🔗 Share this article

Authorities in Hong Kong have detained thirteen individuals on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the recent devastating fire, amid growing public outcry over the arrests of civilians demanding accountability.

Search Continues as Fatalities Climbs

Emergency services continued to search through the seven towers of the Wang Fuk Court estate in Tai Po on Monday, days after the city’s deadliest fire in seven and a half decades. The number of fatalities rose to one hundred and fifty-one and is expected to rise higher as the search continues. Approximately 40 people are currently unaccounted for.

Renovations Connected with Cause of Blaze

The housing complex, housing nearly 5,000 people, had been in the midst of major refurbishment that have been associated with the fire’s cause. In the aftermath, public fury has grown over reported past safety violations by the contractor working at the location and lax enforcement of standards, fuelled by revelations that occupants had been complaining about the work for a twelve months.

Those Detained Include Corporate Executives

On Monday afternoon, officials said the anti-graft agency had detained thirteen people over the disaster so far, including the executives and an engineering consultant of a contracting firm, and had “promptly initiated a thorough probe along the lines of involuntary manslaughter”.

Safety Failures Revealed

A top administrator stated that 7 of twenty tested specimens of the scaffolding net used around the towers did not meet fire-retardant standards. Initial testing had found samples were compliant, but the spokesperson said the cheaper, noncompliant material had been put in areas hard to reach in order to avoid discovery, describing it as a “deplorable deed”.

“They just wanted to make money at the expense of human lives,” the official stated.

Civilians Arrested Amid Demands for Accountability

As allegations of safety violations grow, alongside reports that official bodies had issued several apparently ignored cautions, residents have questioned why no government figures have yet been held accountable. Instead, two civilians were allegedly arrested by national security police.

One individual, named as a Hong Kong student, was arrested over an internet appeal that made “four requests” for assured assistance for the affected families and accountability for those at to blame, including any corrupt or culpable public servants.

Reports said the individual was arrested for “inciting disaffection”. Law enforcement did not confirm the detention, saying only that they “will act according to the situation and in accordance with the law”.

Local media also covered the detention of a ex-local representative.

Government Statement on Detentions

Questioned about the detentions, the security chief said there had been “inaccurate comments online” that were aimed to threaten national security. “Therefore, we must take necessary steps, including law enforcement measures,” the secretary told a media briefing. “Specifics of the operation cannot be revealed as they concern state security.”

Social Media Response and Comparisons Made

On local online platforms, people criticised the arrests of civilians. “State security must be prioritised even if the victims are still buried in the structure,” said one.

Several users drew comparisons to mainland China. “The mainland, these crimes are termed ‘creating disturbances’,” said one commenter. “They are typically met with heavy sentences. Social order overrides everything.”

Another said: “Now that we are aligning with the mainland’s methods, by targeting the individual who asks questions, nobody will dare to ask, and thus the city's administration will have no problems.”

Heightened Sensitivity and Volunteer Efforts

The arrests followed warnings by security officials that they would take action against anyone considered to be using the tragedy to incite “hostile” feelings.

Before the arrests, authorities had already begun showing increased vigilance to the public reaction. Following the quelling of earlier protests, civilian gatherings have been tightly controlled. In the immediate aftermath, volunteer supporters quickly organized relief efforts, with hundreds of people using vehicles and transit to bring in large quantities of garments, food and other necessities for the victims.

Nevertheless, by nightfall, armed police were monitoring the vicinity, and public authorities eventually assumed control from the community coordinators.

The appeal over which the individual was allegedly arrested was launched on Friday evening. Its “four demands” echoed the language of past campaigns but did not call for political change.

The individual informed reporters that he was only “proposing fundamental requests”.

“If these ideas are considered seditious or ‘transgressive’, then I believe I can’t predict the outcomes of anything any more, and I can only do what I sincerely think is correct,” he stated.