🔗 Share this article

Officials in Hong Kong have detained 13 individuals on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with last week’s devastating fire, amid growing public outcry over the arrests of civilians demanding responsibility.

Ongoing Rescue Operations as Death Toll Climbs

Emergency services persisted in combing through the seven towers of the Wang Fuk Court residential area in the Tai Po district on the start of the week, days after the most fatal blaze in 75 years. The number of fatalities rose to 151 and is anticipated to climb further as the operation goes on. About forty people are still unaccounted for.

Construction Work Linked to Fire’s Cause

The housing complex, home to almost five thousand people, had been undergoing extensive renovations that have been linked to the origin of the blaze. In the wake of the tragedy, public fury has grown over alleged previous safety breaches by the construction company working at the location and poor oversight of standards, fuelled by disclosures that residents had been complaining about the work for a year.

Arrests Include Corporate Executives

On Monday afternoon, officials said the anti-graft agency had arrested thirteen people over the tragedy so far, including the executives and an engineering consultant of a contracting firm, and had “immediately begun comprehensive investigation along the lines of manslaughter”.

Safety Failures Uncovered

A top administrator stated that seven of twenty tested samples of the mesh netting used around the towers did not meet fire-retardant standards. Preliminary checks had found materials were compliant, but the official said the less expensive, noncompliant netting had been installed in areas difficult to access in order to evade detection, labeling it a “shameful act”.

“They just wanted to profit at the cost of human lives,” he said.

Citizens Detained Amid Calls for Answers

As accusations of safety lapses grow, alongside revelations that official bodies had issued multiple seemingly unenforced warnings, residents have asked why no officials have yet faced consequences. Instead, two civilians were allegedly arrested by national security police.

A person, named as a Hong Kong student, was arrested over an online petition that made “four requests” for guaranteed support for the affected families and responsibility for those at fault, including any negligent or responsible public servants.

Local media said the individual was detained for “inciting disaffection”. Police did not confirm the detention, saying only that they “will take actions according to the situation and in accordance with the legal framework”.

News outlets also reported the detention of a former district councillor.

Official Response on Detentions

Questioned about the arrests, the secretary of security said there had been “misleading statements online” that were aimed to threaten national security. “Therefore, we must take necessary steps, including police action,” the official told a media briefing. “Operational details cannot be revealed as they concern state security.”

Social Media Response and Comparisons Made

On Hong Kong social media, people criticised the detention of citizens. “National security must be prioritised even if the dead are still buried in the structure,” said one.

Several users made parallels to mainland China. “The mainland, such acts are termed ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’,” said one commenter. “It’s usually met with heavy sentences. Social order overrides everything.”

A different user said: “Since we are following the mainland’s methods, by dealing with the individual who asks questions, nobody will dare to ask, and thus Hong Kong’s governance will have no issues.”

Heightened Sensitivity and Community Response

The arrests came after advisories by national security authorities that they would crack down on anyone considered to be using the tragedy to incite “hostile” feelings.

Prior to the arrests, authorities had already begun showing increased vigilance to the community response. Following the quelling of earlier unrest, public assemblies have been strictly regulated. In the immediate aftermath, community volunteers quickly organized aid operations, with many individuals using cars and transit to deliver mountains of garments, supplies and other necessities for the survivors.

Nevertheless, by evening, armed police were patrolling the vicinity, and government officials soon took over from the volunteer organisers.

The petition over which the individual was reportedly arrested was launched on Friday evening. Its “four points” echoed the terminology of past campaigns but did not call for systemic reform.

The individual informed media that he was only “proposing fundamental demands”.

“If these ideas are deemed subversive or ‘crossing the line’, then I believe I can’t predict the consequences of anything any more, and I can only do what I truly believe is correct,” he stated.