Hong Kong Housing Secretary Resigns After 168 Fire Deaths Trace to Oversight Failures

One hundred sixty-eight people died in a fire that consumed seven apartment buildings in Hong Kong last November. The disaster remains the deadliest in the city in decades, and it triggered a formal inquiry into the maintenance contracts that were active during the blaze.

Chief Executive John Lee announced Thursday that Housing Secretary Winnie Ho resigned the day before. Lee stated that Ho should bear political responsibility for the events, even though the investigation found no personal wrongdoing on her part. At the start of the press conference, Lee and seven other senior officials bowed to residents and the public.

An independent committee determined that the Housing Bureau’s checking unit failed to properly supervise the building maintenance work. The committee’s findings focus on regulatory oversight rather than criminal intent. This review operated separately from the ongoing criminal cases against individuals and firms involved in the project.

Prosecutors charged seven people and two companies with offenses including manslaughter and conspiracy to defraud. The authorities alleged that the companies and some defendants worked together to hide previous litigation records. They concealed these records to secure a renovation contract valued at more than 300 million Hong Kong dollars, or over $38 million.

The fire displaced thousands of residents from the Wang Fuk Court complex in a northern suburban district. Many former residents have waited nearly a year for the government to define accountability for the loss of their homes and loved ones. The buildings were undergoing maintenance at the time the fire started.