11 h. ago Murder suspect who fled to mainland China handed over to Hong Kong police

A murder suspect who fled across the border late last month after allegedly killing his girlfriend in a public housing flat has been handed over to Hong Kong police following his capture by mainland Chinese law enforcers. The Hong Kong identity card holder, 28, was wanted in the city in connection with the murder of a woman, 35, whose body was hidden in the storage compartment of a bed in his Ngau Tau Kok flat. He was arrested by Hong Kong police on Friday and is expected to be charged with...

Events

30 h. ago Contractors’ botches lead to bans on bidding for Hong Kong public projects

Contractors at the centre of construction botches at three Hong Kong light public housing sites last year have been banned from bidding for public projects for up to a year, the government has said. The firm responsible for overseeing work quality, Able Engineering, has also been ordered to pay the extra costs for fixing the problems. It also faces a disciplinary hearing for alleged “serious negligence or misconduct in the construction works”, and a possible criminal investigation by police. The...

Politics

3 d. ago Pushed off the ladder: young Hongkongers with subsidised flats halves in 20 years

Hong Kong’s young adults are being pushed off the housing ladder, with the proportion of subsidised homeowners aged 30 to 39 nearly halving to 16 per cent over the past two decades, and a mid-sized private flat now costing more than 18 years of an average household’s combined income, a study shows. The “Hong Kong Economic Policy Green Paper 2026”, released by the University of Hong Kong Business School on Wednesday, highlighted a long-term shift in Hong Kong’s housing landscape. Overall home...

Politics

3 d. ago Proportion of young Hongkongers owning subsidised flats halves in 20 years: study

Hong Kong’s young adults are being pushed off the housing ladder, with the proportion of subsidised homeowners aged 30 to 39 nearly halving to 16 per cent over the past two decades, and a mid-sized private flat now costing more than 18 years of an average household’s combined income, a study shows. The “Hong Kong Economic Policy Green Paper 2026”, released by the University of Hong Kong Business School on Wednesday, highlighted a long-term shift in Hong Kong’s housing landscape. Overall home...

Politics

3 d. ago Proportion of young Hongkongers owning subsidised flats halves in 30 years: study

Hong Kong’s young adults are being pushed off the housing ladder, with the proportion of subsidised homeowners aged 30 to 39 nearly halving to 16 per cent over the past three decades, and a mid-sized private flat now costing more than 18 years of an average household’s combined income, a study shows. The “Hong Kong Economic Policy Green Paper 2026”, released by the University of Hong Kong Business School on Wednesday, highlighted a long-term shift in Hong Kong’s housing landscape. Overall home...

Politics

3 d. ago Burning mugwort linked to flat fire that killed elderly Hong Kong man

A 78-year-old man has died in a fire suspected to have started from burning mugwort, a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, in a flat at a public housing estate in Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung district. Police said they received a report at 12.41pm on Wednesday that a fire had broken out at Cho Yiu Chuen estate’s Kai Him Lau block. Li Kai-chung, assistant divisional officer of the Fire Services Department, said the blaze started in a bedroom of about 60 sq ft in a fifth-floor flat. Thirteen fire...

Events

5 d. ago Singapore takes stock of lessons from Hong Kong’s Tai Po blaze

Singapore has begun reviewing early findings from the investigation into Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po high-rise blaze, with ministers signalling that lessons from the tragedy could feed into tighter rules on construction and maintenance works in the city state. Lawmakers said in parliament on Monday that observations made by Hong Kong authorities about the fire at Wang Fuk Court would be studied and, where relevant, incorporated into Singapore’s legislation and policy framework. The blaze, which...

Politics

5 d. ago Hong Kong surveyor’s undeclared role prompts rule review after deadly Tai Po fire

Hong Kong will tighten declaration-of-interest rules after discovering that a surveyor arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over a deadly fire had failed to disclose his role at the estate ravaged by the blaze to the Housing Department, for which he worked as a service provider, the Post has learned. The Housing Department’s move to strengthen supervision followed the arrest of 68-year-old Steve Wong Chung-kee in connection with the fatal blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po last...

Events

7 d. ago Hong Kong housing estate flat owners drop contractor linked to deadly Tai Po blaze

Owners of a private housing estate in Tuen Mun have voted overwhelmingly to terminate their renovation contract with Prestige Construction and Engineering Company – the same contractor responsible for works at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, in the aftermath of the deadly blaze. At a general meeting held on Friday night at Elegance Gardens, 96.45 per cent of 1,655 effective undivided shares held by flat owners voted to terminate the contract. Several owners who spoke to the Post said they no longer...

Events

7 d. ago Hong Kong housing estate flat owners drop contractor linked to Tai Po blaze

Owners of a private housing estate in Tuen Mun have voted overwhelmingly to terminate their renovation contract with Prestige Construction and Engineering Company, the same contractor responsible for works at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, in the aftermath of the deadly blaze. At a general meeting held on Friday night at Elegance Gardens, 96.45 per cent of 1,655 effective undivided shares held by flat owners voted to terminate the contract. Several owners who spoke to the Post said they no longer...

Politics

7 d. ago Housing anxiety impeding Hong Kong fire trauma recovery: mental health experts

Anxiety over housing has hindered the psychological healing of residents affected by the deadly Tai Po fire, mental health professionals have said, as Hong Kong authorities begin polling flat owners on their preferences for long-term resettlement. The inferno that broke out on November 26 at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court claimed 161 lives, injured 79, and displaced almost 5,000 residents, most of whom are now living in hotels, youth hostels or transitional housing. The government said on Friday that...

Events

9 d. ago Faulty appliance sparks fire at Hong Kong housing estate, prompting 300 to flee

A fire believed to have been caused by a short circuit in a household appliance broke out at a Hong Kong public housing estate in east Kowloon, prompting more than 300 residents to flee their flats. Police on Thursday reported receiving multiple calls about a fire at Lam Wai House in Lam Tin Estate, at around 6.55pm. The force said about 300 residents evacuated on their own. Preliminary investigations indicated the fire was triggered by a short circuit in an electrical appliance. Footage...

Events

1 week ago Hong Kong firms set to return to projects as new scaffolding nets expected soon

Hong Kong contractors will be able to start installing new scaffolding nets to resume renovation works as early as next week after the deadly Tai Po blaze triggered the citywide removal of mesh at around 420 buildings, an industry body has said. The Construction Industry Council planned to procure 50,000 scaffolding nets, costing HK$170 (US$21.80) each, with the first batch of 12,000 expected to be ready on January 15, executive director Albert Cheng Ting-ning said on Wednesday. Cheng said the...

Politics

1 week ago Tai Po public housing site ‘viable option’ for fire victims, Hong Kong councillors say

Hong Kong district councillors have proposed building residential blocks on a Tai Po site reserved for public housing to resettle residents displaced by last year’s deadly fire, with about 1,300 flats expected by 2030. Lo Hiu-fung, chairman of Tai Po district council’s newly set up working group on building management, also said he would convene the first meeting on Thursday to address maintenance and water leakage issues in other blocks in the area. In an interview with the Post on Wednesday,...

Events

1 week ago Second street cleaner accident in a week as Hongkonger, 74, struck by car

An elderly cleaner was injured after being struck by a left-hand drive car with a trade licence plate at a Hong Kong public housing estate – the second street-worker accident in just over a week. Police received a report at 6.18am on Wednesday that a Geely multipurpose vehicle (MPV) was making a right turn out of a car park at Lek Yuen Estate in Sha Tin when it struck the cleaner pushing a trolley outside Kwai Wo House. The accident left the 74-year-old victim, surnamed Wong, in a semi-conscious...

Transport

1 week ago Lantau site eyed for Hong Kong’s first aircraft dismantling plant: sources

A site on northwest Lantau Island is likely to be chosen for a French aeronautical services company to build a factory that will house Hong Kong’s first aircraft dismantling business, the Post has learned. Sources on Tuesday said the site at To Kau Wan was deemed suitable because of its proximity to Hong Kong International Airport and convenient access to existing infrastructure, including roads and a pier that could accommodate barges. The area is currently being used to temporarily store an...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court owners’ group mounts defence against ‘smear campaign’

The owners’ committee of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Hong Kong has rejected accusations of poor transparency and accountability as a “baseless smear campaign”, issuing a lengthy report ahead of a legal process to dissolve the group. In a 183-page report issued on Monday to fellow owners of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the group also disclosed that it had paid about HK$180 million (US$23 million) to the contractors for repair and renovation work. The group added that it helped...

Events

1 week ago Wang Fuk Court owners’ group mounts defence against ‘smear campaign’ in Hong Kong

The owners’ committee of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Hong Kong has rejected accusations of poor transparency and accountability as a “baseless smear campaign”, issuing a lengthy report ahead of a legal process to dissolve the group. In a 183-page report issued on Monday to fellow owners of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the group also disclosed that it had paid about HK$180 million (US$23 million) to the contractors for repair and renovation work. The group added that it helped...

Events

1 week ago Basketball post collapses at Hong Kong playground, injuring 20

A 20-year-old man was injured after a basketball post collapsed and struck him while he was playing with a friend at a court near a Hong Kong public housing estate. Police received a report of the incident at Kau Pui Lung Road Playground, located near Lok Man Sun Chuen estate in To Kwa Wan, at 10.22pm on Sunday. The force said the victim, surnamed Choi, was playing basketball when the metal structure suddenly tilted forward and fell on him, leading to injuries to his head and knees. Paramedics...

Events

1 week ago Over 150 residents evacuated after ‘candle’ sparks fire in Hong Kong flat

More than 150 residents have been evacuated from a Hong Kong housing estate in Tsuen Wan after a fire broke out in a flat, following a fatal blaze in Shek Kip Mei. Police received a report at 2.22am on Monday that a flat on the 33rd floor of Tai Yuan House at Tsuen Wan Centre was on fire, sending thick smoke billowing out. Firefighters broke down the door of the flat at 98 Tsuen King Circuit to rescue a 63-year-old resident, surnamed Chan. A police source told the Post that Chan was believed to...

Events