Hong Kong politician Peggy Wong files police report amid Tai Po fire scrutiny

A district councillor under public scrutiny amid Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades has said she will personally file reports with both police and the corruption watchdog to request an investigation.

Peggy Wong Pik-kiu, a directly elected district councillor from the Tai Po South constituency, announced her decision via social media on Monday, highlighting the blaze at Wang Fuk Court was not a natural disaster but a man-made tragedy, and the result of years of disregard for safety.

“The victims, both deceased and injured, have paid with their lives to sound a warning bell for all Hong Kong citizens. I will not let their sacrifice be in vain,” she said.

The No 5 fire alarm blaze, the highest level in Hong Kong, broke out on Wednesday afternoon and struck seven of the eight buildings in the complex, claiming at least 151 deaths and 79 injured as of Monday.

Wong served as a consultant to the complex’s incorporated owners last year, when the body passed a resolution in January last year to choose Prestige Construction & Engineering Company as the contractor for the complex’s renovation and accepted its HK$330 million quotation.

When the blaze started, the complex was undergoing the renovation project that started in July last year, and was surrounded by bamboo scaffolding and protective green mesh nets, which might have accelerated the spread of the flames.

Three people – two directors and a consultant of the contractor behind the renovations – were arrested for manslaughter on Thursday morning.