Seven individuals and two companies were charged on Wednesday with 25 counts of offenses, including manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, “money laundering”, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion, in connection with last November’s devastating fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district.
Police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) pressed the charges against them following thorough investigations and legal advice from the Department of Justice, the Hong Kong Police Force said in a statement.
SPECIAL PAGE: Tai Po fire inquiry hearings
The joint investigation task force was set up by the city’s police force and the ICAC following the Nov 26 fire that tore through seven of the eight blocks of Wang Fuk Court residential complex, killing 168 people.
“The seven individuals played different roles in the major renovation project of Wang Fuk Court,” reads the police statement.
They include directors and Registered Inspector of the project consultancy firm, and directors of the main contractor, it added.
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The two companies charged are the project consultancy firm and the main contractor involved in Wang Fuk Court’s major renovation project, according to the statement.
The two cases were scheduled to be mentioned at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday afternoon.
