‘Tried our best’: Owners’ corporation opposed use of flammable materials, Tai Po fire probe hears

The Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation tried to pressure the renovation contractor not to use flammable boards and substandard construction nets before the fire hit, an independent inquiry has heard.

Tony Tsui, who served as chair of the management committee of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation when the tragedy struck, testified on Friday at a hearing organised by an independent committee investigating the fatal fire at the Tai Po housing estate.

Tony Tsui (in white), chair of the owner’s corporation committee at the time of the Wang Fuk Court fire, testifies on April 17, 2026. Photo: Irene Chan/HKFP.

Tsui said that he and other members of the Wang Fuk Court owners’ committee had told the main contractor, Prestige Construction & Engineering, not to use foam boards – a flammable material – and not to allow construction workers to smoke on the renovation site.

However, he failed to push for a change, he said. Tsui broke down in tears at the end of his testimony, saying it was hard and stressful to serve on the owners’ board and to oversee such a large-scale renovation project.

“How could residents like us lead a HK$330 million renovation project?” Tsui said in Cantonese, “I hope after the hearings, large renovations [of residential buildings] could be assisted more by the government in terms of regulations and supervision.”

Tsui, who works for the MTR Corporation, was chair of the owner’s board from September 2024 until it was dissolved by a court in January 2026 and replaced by a firm appointed by the government.

Wang Fuk Court, home to 1,984 families, was under renovation when the fire broke out on November 26, killing 168 people and displacing thousands.

Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, pictured on December 1, 2025, in the aftermath of the fatal blaze. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

All eight of the estate’s buildings had been covered with bamboo scaffolding and construction nets when the renovation work started in July 2024. Construction workers also used foam boards to cover the windows to protect them from debris as they removed the old tiles. 

Initial investigation showed that the use of non-retardant nets and flammable foam boards exacerbated the spread of the fire, which began at Wang Cheong House and engulfed six other residential towers.

Tsui said he raised concerns about the foam boards to Prestige in September 2024 after residents filed complaints to the owners’ committee.

According to a WhatsApp conversation record shown at the hearing, a Prestige representative told the committee that the foam boards would not ignite upon contact with a cigarette butt, and there was no law in Hong Kong banning the use of foam boards in construction.

Tsui said the owners’ committee then asked Prestige to consult the Fire Services Department (FSD). Prestige then replied that, according to the FSD, there was no regulation banning the use of foam boards.

Residents watch as firefighters tackle a blaze engulfing multiple residential towers in Tai Po on November 26, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

“In terms of the owner’s corporation, we’ve tried our best [to oppose the use of foam boards]. However, there was no law in Hong Kong to [support] our advocacy, and we felt helpless,” Tsui said.

Senior counsel Victor Dawes, the lead lawyer of the independent committee, said at the hearing that some residents felt Tsui did not work hard to oversee the construction project and that it was hard to contact him before the fire.

In response, Tsui said the accusation was unfair and that he shared his personal phone number with all residents after he took up the position as the chairperson. He added that he also held weekly meetings to update residents on the progress of the renovation project, which everyone could join.

Workers’ smoking on site

Tsui said that before the deadly blaze, the owners’ board kept receiving residents’ complaints about construction workers smoking on the scaffolding.

The inquiry previously heard that the deadly fire was “most likely” caused by smoking.

Tony Tsui (centre right), the former chair of Wang Fuk Court owners’ corporation management committee, leaves the City Gallery on March 20, 2026, after attending a public hearing into the deadly November fire at the Tai Po housing estate. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

The former chair said the board urged Prestige multiple times to ban workers from smoking, even trying to hold payments to pressure the contractor to tackle the issue.

A WhatsApp conversation record shown at the hearing confirmed this. However, a Prestige representative kept asking the board to pay first.

Tsui also said he noticed that many scaffolding nets were torn after a major typhoon hit Hong Kong in September and that construction workers replaced them with nets in a lighter green colour.

Tsui said the board was concerned about the quality and safety of the scaffolding nets and asked Prestige if it could replace them with higher‑quality, fire‑retardant nets. However, the contractor refused, he said.