Month: November 2025

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Primary Healthcare Commission announced today that it will use the District Health Centres (DHCs) and DHC Expresses (DHCEs) as hubs to provide free personalised case-management services to residents affected by the Tai Po fire.

The commission explained that the new arrangements will be implemented as Wang Fuk Court residents gradually relocate to various locations from temporary shelters. Comprehensive support will be provided to meet their primary healthcare needs.

The commission will arrange for healthcare professionals from various disciplines to provide support to residents referred by the DHCs/DHCEs. This will include specialised medical, nursing and medication services, as well as psychological support.

Affected residents can register by phone or online without having to visit the centres in person. Operators of emergency transitional housing and social workers from the Social Welfare Department can also assist in making referrals.

Phone hotlines will be set up for DHCs/DHCEs across the city’s 18 districts, with details to be announced on the websites of both the commission and the DHCs/DHCEs.

In addition, those affected can visit any of the Hospital Authority’s (HA) family medicine clinics, where consultation, treatment, drug dispensation and other services will be provided.

The commission is working with the HA to update relevant systems so that affected residents can make priority bookings for Family Medicine Out-patient Services.

The medical stations currently set up at temporary shelters will remain in operation until the shelters’ closure.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Transport Department today said four KMB bus routes will be diverted from tomorrow to take passengers from areas affected by the Tai Po fire to Sha Tin and urban areas.

It explained that, as a number of road sections remain closed in the aftermath of the blaze, the franchised bus operator (FBO), in co-ordination with the department, will implement a diversion plan to ease commuters’ inconvenience in going to work or school.

Starting from their first departures tomorrow, KMB route Nos. 72, 72A, 73A and 74A will be diverted to Tai Po Road – Tai Po Kau, via Yau King Lane.

The trimming of branches protruding over the carriageway at some locations along Yau King Lane has been completed. The FBO also carried out a trial along the route to ensure its safety.

The department reminded members of the public to plan ahead and reserve sufficient time for their journeys. They can refer to the FBO’s website or mobile application for the latest information on its routes.

The MTR will continue to run services on relevant sections of the East Rail Line at enhanced frequency, and provide MTR Bus services in Tai Po as needed, while FBOs will keep reserve vehicles and manpower on standby to meet passenger demand.

The department added that traffic on Tai Po Road, Tolo Highway, Fanling Highway and roads in Tai Po town centre is expected to be busier, and that the public should avoid driving unnecessarily to these areas. It said motorists should heed traffic lights, traffic signs and road markings, and drive carefully.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Multiple departments under three task forces set up following the Tai Po blaze are working tirelessly to push forward support and relief efforts on all fronts.

 

The three bodies are the Task Force on Investigation & Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support & Fundraising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements. They are led, respectively, by the Chief Secretary, the Deputy Chief Secretary, and the Deputy Financial Secretary.

 

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government expressed its sincere gratitude to the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and to various departments of the Guangdong Provincial Government, for their staunch support and prompt assistance, including their provision of equipment such as drones, exoskeleton devices and protective gear, as well as medical supplies. It said this has significantly assisted the Hong Kong SAR’s emergency response and follow-up efforts.

 

Mourning victims

The Government mourned the victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire and expressed its profound condolences to the bereaved at the Central Government Offices yesterday morning, with national and regional flags at all government buildings flying at half-mast. Members of the public also visited condolence points in various districts to sign condolence books and mourn the victims.

 

Providing relief

The Government is offering an emergency cash subsidy of $10,000 per affected household to provide immediate relief to affected residents.

 

As of 3.30pm yesterday, the Government had registered more than 1,800 households for the subsidy and disbursed the emergency cash to 929 households.

 

In addition, the Government will provide token solidarity payments of $200,000 to the families of each deceased victim, and a living allowance of $50,000 will be provided to each affected household starting from next week.

 

Welfare assistance

As of yesterday morning, social workers at the Social Welfare Department (SWD) had been in touch with about 1,300 households, and 3,200 affected residents had been registered for support services on a “one social worker per household” basis.

 

Residents not yet in touch with the SWD are advised to leave their contact information by calling 182 183.

 

In addition, the Government will further strengthen the “one social worker per household” service by mobilising civil servants. For each household, in addition to assistance from a social worker, two to three civil servants will be assigned to provide voluntary support, such as running errands or collecting supplies.

 

Fundraising and supplies

On top of a $300 million injection from the Government, as of 3pm yesterday the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had raised around $800 million, bringing the fund’s total to around $1.1 billion.

 

The Government will also set up a central supplies station at the Tai Po Community Centre to co-ordinate and properly manage donated materials. Members of the public can also provide their contact information and details of items they wish to donate via WhatsApp, on 9213 2388, for the Government to follow up.

 

In addition, the Government is working with the information technology sector to expedite the development of an online platform to facilitate registration of donated supplies from organisations and members of the public.

 

Mortgage arrangements

In order to alleviate financial pressures on affected owners at Wang Fuk Court, the Housing Authority has immediately relaxed the provisions regarding mortgage repayment periods and repayment amounts under the Deed of Guarantee.

 

Emergency accommodation

As of yesterday afternoon, around 517 residents affected by the fire had been accommodated, under the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps or hotel rooms.

 

Another 1,038 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or the Housing Society. Two shelters remain open for residents in need.

 

To assist those staying at transitional housing units, a residents’ service plying between Good House in Tai Po and MTR Tai Po Market Station began operating yesterday morning.

 

Meanwhile, the frequency of the service plying between another Tai Po transitional housing project, Trackside Villas, and MTR Tai Po Market Station, has been increased.

 

Funeral arrangements

The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will arrange for dedicated staff to assist each bereaved family, allowing them to make funeral arrangements at their preferred time and location. A service counter has been set up at the Fu Shan Public Mortuary to offer assistance to families.

 

Mental health, school support

The Fire Services Department’s (FSD) Psychological Services Unit is providing emotional support and psychological counselling to family members of deceased fireman Ho Wai-ho, as well as to other frontline firefighters and supporting personnel.

 

The unit will also conduct post-operational psychological debriefings to help them process their emotions.

 

Meanwhile, to pool strength in the education sector, the Education Bureau has initiated the establishment of a territory-wide education sector support group for special incidents.

 

The group comprises representatives of primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and special schools, as well as school councils and various school heads’ associations.

 

It will serve as an exchange platform for keeping abreast of the situation in schools, providing affected students with tailored assistance, and garnering and unifying support to help students and teachers overcome trauma.

 

Visit the dedicated website for the latest updates and information about support services for Wang Fuk Court.

 

Locating missing persons

The Police Force deployed over 600 officers from its Disaster Victim Identification Unit to conduct searches at two of the buildings yesterday, completing the operation at about 2.30pm. No human remains were found during the search.

 

Once relevant departments confirm the safety of each building, Police will immediately deploy officers to conduct searches. The force will also continue to follow up on missing persons, so as to confirm their status and the number of casualties as soon as possible.

 

Investigation work

The FSD-led interdepartmental Fire Investigation Task Force held its first meeting on Friday to investigate the cause of the fire and how it spread, and to determine the factors that led to heavy casualties.

 

In addition, the FSD conducted functional tests on the fire alarm systems, including fire alarm bells, at all eight blocks of Wang Fuk Court after the fire. It was found that the fire alarm systems were not in effective working order.

 

The FSD will continue to carry out inspections on other fire service installations and equipment in all blocks of the estate, and will collect evidence. Should any contraventions be found, the FSD will take appropriate enforcement action, or refer the case to law enforcement authorities for follow-up.

 

Three personnel of a construction company arrested on November 27 have been released on bail. Police are conducting a thorough and in-depth investigation, and gathering evidence through various channels.

 

Building safety

The Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU), together with Housing Department professionals led by two Deputy Directors and five directorate Chief Structural Engineers, visited Wang Fuk Court yesterday to inspect the overall structural safety of the damaged buildings. By 1pm, the ICU had completed its inspections of the structural safety of Wang Yan House and Wang Tao House, as well as the first two floors of Wang Cheong Court.

 

Based on its visual inspections, the ICU assessed that Wang Yan House and Wang Tao House should have no imminent risk in terms of structural safety.

 

Preliminary observations suggested that some units may have more serious structural damage, and that temporary support may be necessary. Contractors have already been mobilised to conduct relevant works.

 

The ICU continued to deploy manpower to conduct on-site sampling at Wang Fuk Court and four other Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) courts: Sui Wo Court in Sha Tin, Ching Lai Court in Sham Shui Po, Yee Kok Court in Sham Shui Po, and On Kay Court in Kwun Tong.

 

Samples collected from protective nets have been sent to the Government Laboratory for testing. In the four HOS courts other than Wang Fuk Court, if any flammable material is identified on external walls the ICU will instruct the contractors to remove it immediately.

 

Meanwhile, the Buildings Department (BD) announced yesterday that it has issued orders under the Buildings Ordinance requiring the immediate temporary suspension of works on 28 private building projects with Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, Limited (PC&E) as the registered contractor.

 

Suspension orders were also issued on another two private building maintenance projects where plastic sheetings were found to be used. The BD ordered the two registered contractors concerned to remove those sheetings at once, and will seek advice concerning legal penalties.

 

As of yesterday, 250 buildings undergoing external wall maintenance had been inspected, with samples being been taken for testing from buildings which have scaffold nets.

 

Follow-up actions will be promptly announced if further buildings are found to be using foam or plastic sheeting to block windows, or if sampling results indicate that scaffold nets fail to meet fire-retardant standards.

 

Work safety

The Labour Department (LD) launched a territory-wide special enforcement operation on Friday, targeting fire protection facilities and fire emergency preparedness at buildings maintenance work sites where large-scale scaffolding is erected.

 

Among other checks, the operation is looking at whether protective screens on scaffolds comply with recognised standards for fire-retardant materials.

 

As of yesterday, the LD had inspected 46 work sites and issued a total of 39 written warnings and two improvement notices.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested three more people last night in connection with possible corruption relating to renovation works at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. All three were detained for further enquiries.

Earlier yesterday, the ICAC arrested eight people following its establishment of a task force to launch a full investigation into the above-mentioned case.

The three new arrestees, aged between 52 and 68, were persons-in-charge at the contractor undertaking the Wang Fuk Court renovation project. They were arrested by Police on Thursday, before being released last night and arrested by the ICAC.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government yesterday inaugurated an Inter-departmental Fire Investigation Task Force in response to the fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, the Fire Services Department (FSD) said.

Led by the FSD, the task force comprises representatives from the Police Force, the Buildings Department, the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department, the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit, the Labour Department and the Government Laboratory, as well as fire engineering professionals.

The task force held its first meeting yesterday with two main objectives – to investigate the cause of the fire and how it spread, and to determine the factors that resulted in heavy casualties.

After the meeting, the members conducted a site inspection at the scene of the Wang Fuk Court fire.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government’s plan to provide $200,000 as a token of solidarity to the families of each deceased victim in the Wang Fuk Court fire will also apply to the families of foreign domestic helpers who passed away in the fire.

Speaking to media after appearing on a radio programme today, Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak said social workers from the Social Welfare Department will contact the families of the deceased foreign helpers to facilitate distribution of the relief.

Addressing media alongside Miss Mak, Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun said the Labour Department is working with the consulates-general in Hong Kong of the Philippines or Indonesia, to look for foreign helpers who went missing in the blaze.

“That includes a visit on-site to Tai Po so that they could look for, and also help, the foreign domestic helpers on-site. We are receiving more information from the two consulates-general, including confirmed deaths of at least two Indonesian foreign domestic helpers, and also a number of them are still missing.

“I have to thank the foreign domestic helpers at Wang Fuk Court. We understand many of them took care of elderly people and children at the court. We know (that) many of them stayed inside together with their employers, taking care of them even at the height of the fire.

“You can rest assured, we will provide all the necessary assistance to all the foreign domestic workers and make sure their stay in Hong Kong is safe, and to cater to their needs.”

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Housing Authority announced today that, in order to alleviate mortgage repayment burdens on owners affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, it has immediately relaxed provisions regarding mortgage repayment periods and repayment amounts under the Deed of Guarantee.

The relaxations allow banks and financial institutions providing mortgage loans for subsidised sale flats to offer special mortgage arrangements to the holders of mortgages on subsidised sale flats with unpaid premiums at Wang Fuk Court. This includes deferred repayment of mortgage instalments or of the mortgage principal.

The authority has notified participating financial institutions of the arrangements, and will issue letters of confirmation to them.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today mourned victims of the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, and expressed its profound condolences.

 

At 8am, Chief Executive John Lee – together with principal officials, Executive Council Non-official Members, and civil servants – observed a three-minute silence at the forecourt of the Central Government Offices East Wing, in solemn tribute to those who tragically lost their lives in the fire.

 

Also observing the silence were Executive Deputy Director of the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council Xu Qifang, who came to Hong Kong to assist in disaster relief works; Deputy Director of the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, Deputy Director of the HKMAO of the State Council and Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR Zhou Ji; and Deputy Director of the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the HKMAO of the State Council Nong Rong.

 

Subsequently, Mr Lee, Mr Xu, Mr Zhou, Mr Nong and principal officials signed a book of condolence at the CGO in tribute to the victims.

 

From today until December 1, the Home Affairs Department will station condolence points across the city’s 18 districts for the public to sign condolence books. The books will be available for signing from 9am to 9pm.

 

During the mourning period, national flags and regional flags displayed at all government buildings, including offices of the Hong Kong SAR Government outside Hong Kong, will be flown at half-mast. All celebration activities organised by the Government will be cancelled or postponed as appropriate. Government officials will also reduce their attendance at non-essential public activities.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today said that the firefighting and rescue operations at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po have been completed, and various bureaus and departments are focusing on stepping up follow‑up support and recovery work.

Victim identification
To expedite the handling of enquiries related to missing people, Police activated the Major Incident Investigation & Disaster Support System to help identify the casualties.

The Disaster Victim Identification Unit will also be deployed to systematically confirm the identities of the victims, and provide evidence for subsequent investigations and follow‑up work. An identification centre has also been set up to assist families in conducting preliminary identification of the deceased through photographs. Following initial identification, Police will arrange formal identification procedures.

In accordance with the Coroners Ordinance, the bodies of the victims in the fire will be transferred to the public mortuary. The Department of Health’s Forensic Pathology Service is collecting evidence for the Police’s Disaster Victim Identification Unit and fully assisting in the identification of the deceased.

Considering that bereaved families may have difficulty providing identification documents and medical records of the deceased, forensic pathologists will exercise discretion on a case-by-case basis and provide appropriate support. They will also endeavour to assist bereaved families in applying for a waiver of post-mortem procedures according to their wishes.

Providing relief
To provide immediate relief for affected residents, the Government began offering an emergency cash subsidy of $10,000 per affected household last night. Applications were processed for 78 households last night, with $780,000 disbursed.

As at 4pm today, the Tai Po District Office is processing applications from over 1,200 households, and the emergency cash subsidies will be disbursed over today and tomorrow.

Additionally, the Government will provide a token of solidarity of $200,000 to the family members of each deceased victim, and starting next week, a living allowance of $50,000 will be provided to each affected household.

Funeral arrangements
The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will arrange dedicated staff to assist each family of the deceased in handling funeral arrangements, including body claims, cremation services and applications for niche allocations.

The FEHD will also maintain close co-ordination with social workers under the Social Welfare Department’s (SWD) “one social worker per household” initiative.

The FEHD will provide extra cremation sessions and make available niches at its public columbaria, enabling families to arrange cremations and post-funeral matters promptly at their preferred time and location.

The Government will waive fees for cremation services and niches at public columbaria, bear funeral expenditures, and provide $50,000 to the families of each deceased individual.

HKID replacement
Residents affected by the fire may visit the Immigration Headquarters during office hours without an appointment for replacements of Hong Kong identity cards or Hong Kong Special Administrative Region travel documents, any Registration of Persons Office for replacements of identity cards, and any Immigration Branch Office for replacements of travel documents.

Meanwhile, the Immigration Department has deployed officers to various temporary shelters to assist the affected residents of Wang Fuk Court with pre-registration and will arrange dedicated vehicles to take them to the Immigration Headquarters in Tseung Kwan O later to complete the procedures for replacements of personal documents, including Hong Kong identity cards, Hong Kong SAR travel documents and the Hong Kong Birth Certificate. Relevant fees will be waived.

A special service session will be arranged at the Immigration Headquarters in Tseung Kwan O outside office hours tomorrow to process relevant applications.

For the Hong Kong & Macao Residents Entry & Exit Permit, the Immigration Department has liaised with the China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong to provide a special service period to assist residents in need to apply for Home Return Permits and other travel documents issued by Mainland authorities at the adjacent China Travel Service Document Services HK Limited Tseung Kwan O Centre, after completing their relevant applications at the Immigration Headquarters.

Emergency accommodation
The Government is striving to provide emergency accommodation support for residents affected by the fire. As of this morning, around 205 residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels/camps or hotel rooms.

Another 601 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau.

Furthermore, nine shelters remain open, with around 720 residents staying overnight yesterday. An interdepartmental support station is set up at each shelter, and District Services & Community Care Teams across all 18 districts will take turns to be on duty to assist residents.

Transport services
To accommodate the needs of residents admitted into Lok Sin Village and Good House, two transitional housing projects in Tai Po, the Transport Department (TD) has co-ordinated with KMB to enhance the service of route Nos. 72C, 73P, 74E, 75K, 75P and 275R travelling along Ting Kok Road, as well as relevant operators to strengthen the service of the New Territories Green Minibus (GMB) route Nos. 20B, 20C, 20E, 20G, 20R and 20T.

Starting from November 29, the GMB operator concerned will provide an additional temporary service connecting Good House and MTR Tai Po Market Station.

With support from the MTR Corporation (MTRC), the Government will provide the affected residents with Octopus cards with $2,000 of stored credit through the SWD, with each resident receiving one card to facilitate their daily travel.

The MTRC has also set up a support desk at MTR Tai Po Market Station to facilitate express registration for residents whose JoyYou Card, Octopus cards for people with disabilities, and Octopus cards for students that have been lost or damaged.

Financial support
Separately, the Financial Secretary convened a co-ordination meeting this afternoon with financial regulators to enhance support for residents affected by the fire.

The Insurance Authority has set up a dedicated task force to co-ordinate the insurance sector’s responses on the handling of public enquiries and claims.

Insurers are also offering various forms of assistance, including prioritising claims processing, expediting payouts, offering premium holidays or extended payment deadlines, and providing interest relief on policy loans.

Welfare assistance
On other emergency support, the SWD has registered more than 900 households for the provision of “one social worker per household” services in order to render necessary assistance according to their welfare needs.

The SWD will continue to reach out to other unregistered households or they may leave their contact information by calling 182 183; social workers will assist to follow up.

Moreover, the SWD has arranged respite services for dozens of elderly residents and people with disabilities. Social welfare organisations were also engaged to provide burial services for residents in need.

Staff mobilisation
Meanwhile, the Civil Service Bureau today mobilised more than 200 additional staff to form Quick Response Units to provide support at temporary shelters and other locations in Tai Po, including distributing supplies to affected residents. They include civil servants from the Civil Engineering & Development Department and the Immigration Department, as well as staff from the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

School support
To support schools and students to cope with the incident, the Education Bureau (EDB) will offer $100,000 to each primary and secondary school and $50,000 to each kindergarten in Tai Po District under the Special Incident Assistance Grant. If any school premises are damaged, the EDB will arrange emergency repair works.

Additionally, the EDB will hold five online seminars on psychological support this coming weekend to assist school personnel and parents in taking care of students or children with traumatic experiences.

Fundraising effort
Members of the public can visit 122 post offices across the city, including three mobile post offices, to donate to the government-established Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. A receipt will be issued upon completion as confirmation.

To further facilitate the public, the Faster Payment System (FPS) channel for the relief fund has been activated (FPS Identifier: 124037276).

The Government is working with the information technology sector to expedite the development of an online platform for registering donated supplies, to allow organisations and members of the public to register the items they can donate, enabling the Government to better consolidate the information and distribute the supplies to residents in need when necessary.

People may provide their contact information and details of items they can donate via WhatsApp at 9213 2388 for timely follow-up by the Government.

Dedicated website
The Government has established a dedicated website Support Services for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, providing a one-stop platform for relevant information and updates on accommodation support, relief supplies, government dedicated fund, financial support, as well as medical and counselling services, to facilitate public access.

Construction probe
The three personnel of the construction company arrested yesterday are still being detained for enquiries. The Fire Services Department has established an interdepartmental investigation team with participating departments including the Hong Kong Police Force, the Buildings Department, the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department, the Housing Department, the Labour Department and the Government Laboratory. The investigation will commence shortly.

On the protective nets used at Wang Fuk Court, the contractor submitted a test report to the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) in October 2024. Upon review, the ICU did not identify any non-compliance issues against the fire-retardant requirements as stipulated in the Buildings Ordinance and relevant practice notes/circular letters.

Officers of the ICU visited Wang Fuk Court in November 2024 to oversee how the registered inspectors and contractor conducted on-site sampling and burned the material of the protective nets, but no combustible feature was detected.

In light of the fire incident and to conduct sampling and testing at the work sites, the ICU conducted preliminary on-site sampling of the protective nets yesterday at five Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) courts that have been issued notices under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme and are currently undergoing major maintenance works. Apart from Wang Chi House of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, others include Sui Wo Court in Sha Tin, Ching Lai Court in Sham Shui Po, Yee Kok Court in Sham Shui Po, and On Kay Court in Kwun Tong.

The preliminary results of the tests conducted by the Government Laboratory have not identified any non-compliance issues against the fire-retardant requirements of protective nets as stipulated in the Buildings Ordinance and relevant practice notes/circular letters.

The ICU has also conducted on-site sampling of the styrofoam materials used for protecting the windows at Wang Chi House of Wang Fuk Court, which was not affected by the fire incident. Tests by the Government Laboratory confirmed that the styrofoam material is flammable.

Except for Wang Fuk Court, the ICU has not identified any cases of using styrofoam boards as the protective materials for the external walls or windows at the other four HOS courts.

The ICU will continue to conduct on-site sampling at the seven buildings affected by the fire incident in Wang Fuk Court. Immediate referral will be made to the law enforcement agencies for prosecutions if any non-compliance issues are found.

The Buildings Department (BD) commenced inspections yesterday in batches of existing buildings that are undergoing major external wall repairs and with scaffold nets installed for checking of records or relevant test documents regarding the fire-retardant properties of materials such as scaffold nets, and collecting samples for testing.

As of 5pm today, the BD inspected 127 buildings and collected samples, which are sent in batches to the Government Laboratory, local private laboratories and Mainland laboratories for testing. Results are expected within one to three days.

The BD aims to complete inspections and sampling in batches within next week at the latest.

In the inspections conducted so far, the BD has discovered two buildings with foam boards covering windows and has requested their immediate removal. It will notify residents by letter and seek legal advice for considering legal penalties.

The BD has issued circular letters to all registered building professionals and registered contractors, requiring them to review records or test documents for materials such as scaffold nets for ongoing works, regardless of whether the projects are new building constructions or maintenance of existing buildings.

The review includes checking whether the materials are in good condition and meeting fire-retardant performance standards and requirements. Reports must be submitted to the BD within seven days and it will immediately conduct audit checks for sampling and testing.

The Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) has also requested the contractors of 24 public works building projects to review the records or test documents of materials, such as scaffold protective nets. A report must be submitted to the ArchSD within seven days.

Separately, in response to the public concern over the Emergency Relief Chit, the Social Welfare Department clarified that the chits are only a record for residents who received Emergency Relief Services at temporary shelters, noting that it is irrelevant to the “one social worker per household” service. 

The department reiterated that residents with the “one social worker per household” service arrangement do not need any registration card as documentary proof.