Wang Fuk Court residents allowed repeat trips to retrieve belongings after petition calls 3-hour limit ‘insufficient’

2026-03-30 - 05:42

Hong Kong authorities will allow Wang Fuk Court residents to request additional trips to their fire-hit flats to retrieve their belongings, after a petition described a one-off three-hour window as “insufficient.” Flowers left on the roadside near the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on December 10, 2025. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said on Monday that residents of the Tai Po estate who want more time to pack their belongings could speak to social workers and that the authorities would “look at the actual situation and handle it accordingly.” On Friday, the government announced that residents of the seven Wang Fuk Court towers ravaged by the deadly fire would be given a maximum of three hours to retrieve their valuables from mid-April to early May – an arrangement that many criticised as “insufficient.” Cheuk on Saturday defended the three-hour window, saying that with flats allowing up to four people to return depending on the severity of damage, each household effectively had 12 hours to collect their belongings. It will be the first time they have been allowed to return to their flats since the deadly tragedy struck in late November. One resident, Jason Kong, started a petition opposing the arrangements. As of Monday morning, the petition had received 542 signatures, he told HKFP. The petition stated that three hours would not be enough and considered the requirement that residents take all their belongings down in one go – by stairs, since they will not be able to use lifts – “dangerous.” A kite near Wang Fuk Court on January 30, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Per the government’s arrangements, a maximum of four people can return to collect their belongings, depending on how severely their home was burned. According to the authorities, 34 of the flats will allow only one person to enter, and around 320 flats will allow two people. “A one-off session of three hours (not including the time for going up and down the stairs) is insufficient for proper packing,” the petition said. “The elderly and families with more members, especially, will need multiple visits to pack their belongings at their own pace and bid their homes a proper farewell.” This month, Hong Kong marked four months since the fire at Wang Fuk Court made international headlines and shed light on corruption and malpractice in the renovation sector. The estate was undergoing large-scale renovations at the time of the fire, and protective netting around the buildings that did not meet fire safety standards is said to have led to the blaze’s rapid spread. The massive fire – the city’s deadliest in nearly eight decades – killed 168 people and displaced thousands of residents.