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2025
The Fire Services Department today posthumously conferred the honorary title of Senior Fireman on the late Ho Wai-ho, in recognition of his exemplary service and selfless dedication to duty. At the ceremony, held at Sha Tin Fire Station, members of Mr Ho’s family accepted, on his behalf, a posthumous title conferment certificate and an embroidery of the Senior Fireman’s rank badge from Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung. Members of the department’s New Territories North Command were also present to witness the ceremony. Mr Ho was born in 1987 and joined the FSD as a fireman in 2016. He served at the Sha Tin Fire Station and demonstrated outstanding performance and dedication during his nine-year service. While executing a firefighting and rescue operation at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po on November 26 this year, Mr Ho sustained serious injuries and lost his life in the line of duty. The blaze was later upgraded to a No. 5 alarm fire. The department will hold a funeral with full honour for Mr Ho at the Universal Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom, Kowloon on December 19. He will be laid to rest at the Gallant Garden in Wo Hop Shek afterwards.
The launch ceremony of the Pilot Scheme on Sports Dispute Resolution was held today and the scheme will start accepting case applications at the beginning of the first quarter of 2026. The scheme aims to provide the sports sector with a fair, efficient and convenient mechanism for resolving sports disputes through mediation and arbitration, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of Hong Kong's sports industry and promoting the city as an international centre for sports dispute resolution. Deputy Secretary for Justice and Advisory Committee on Sports Dispute Resolution Chairperson Cheung Kwok-kwan, Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Rosanna Law, and Director-General of the Department of Law of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Liu Chunhua were in attendance. Over 160 representatives from the sports and legal sectors, including the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, the Hong Kong Sports Institute, the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Law Society of Hong Kong and national sports associations, as well as some current and retired Hong Kong athletes, also joined the ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Cheung said that with the vibrant development of the sports industry, sports disputes are an inevitable result of interactions among stakeholders, adding that establishing a dedicated mechanism for resolving sports disputes is an important foundation for advancing the sports industry to new heights. Mr Cheung reiterated that the scheme provides a fair, efficient, and convenient mechanism for resolving sports disputes through mediation and arbitration, promoting the development of the sports industry through free competition in a fair market. The Department of Justice (DoJ) will collaborate with the legal and sports sectors to organise various promotional and training activities to further enhance public awareness of sports dispute resolution. Mr Cheung also encouraged professionals from different fields to actively participate in and make further contributions to the development of sports industry and dispute resolution services in Hong Kong. Miss Law in her speech said that the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau fully supports the DoJ as well as the legal and sports sectors in jointly promoting the pilot scheme, which establishes a neutral, fair, and efficient mechanism to effectively handle various sports-related disputes and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of athletes, coaches, sports organisations and all stakeholders. She added that the pilot scheme also contributes to creating a healthier and more sustainable development environment, laying a solid foundation for the long-term future of sports in Hong Kong. The AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre (AALCO-HKRAC) will administer the pilot scheme and provide institutional support for the conduct of mediation and arbitration. Whereas the eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre (eBRAM) will provide the technological infrastructure and support required for the operation of the pilot scheme, with a view to promoting a wider use of lawtech and online dispute resolution services. At the launch ceremony, Mr Cheung, on behalf of the DoJ, signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives from the AALCO-HKRAC and the eBRAM. In the subsequent panel discussions, speakers from the legal and sports sectors, as well as the DoJ, engaged in in-depth discussions on the advantages of mediation and arbitration in resolving sports disputes and introduced the features of the pilot scheme. The pilot scheme’s operational period will be two years followed by a review. It will adopt a mediation first, arbitration next approach to resolve both commercial and non-commercial sports disputes. Featuring an online mediation and arbitration platform, the scheme will also expedite procedures to enhance the efficiency of dispute resolution and address urgent disputes that may arise during competition. The Government will provide subsidies for eligible cases.
The Development Bureau today announced a new mechanism for scaffold nets on external walls to be sampled on-site. The regime, devised following the blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, applies to scaffold nets used in repair projects as well as those used in new building works. Specifically, contractors must provide certificates and test reports for the fire-retardant performance of the scaffold nets. In addition, upon delivery of the scaffold nets to Hong Kong, contractors are required to take a specified number of samples in a specified manner, and send them to designated laboratories for testing. Samples must all pass the test before the scaffold nets can be installed. The Government’s enforcement departments will conduct random verification checks after the scaffold nets are installed. Taking into account space constraints, the Buildings Department will allow on-site or off-site sampling. Contractors are required to establish a tracking system to the satisfaction of the department in order to ensure that the installed scaffold nets are from the same batches that have passed laboratory testing. To facilitate the implementation of the new mechanism, the Government is identifying additional laboratories and aims to have a preliminary list drawn up next week. The Government has also initially identified a suitable site for the industry to conduct off-site sampling, which is expected to be ready for use next week. Furthermore, to address the short-term surge in demand for scaffold nets and testing services, the Construction Industry Council will make special arrangements for collective bulk procurement and coordinated testing services. Financial supportAs of noon today, donations received by the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had reached about $3.2 billion. Combined with the $300 million in startup capital from the Government, this takes the fund to a total of around $3.5 billion. The fund will provide a living allowance to each affected household. As of today, 1,784 cases had been processed. The fund will also provide the families of each deceased victim with a $200,000 token of solidarity, as well as $50,000 to cover funeral costs. As of today, a total of 121 cases had been processed. Welfare arrangementsThe Advisory Committee on Mental Health today announced the launch of a programme to provide free mental health support services to bereaved families following the fire at Wang Fuk Court. Separately, as of this morning, 1,457 residents had been accommodated under the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps or hotel rooms. Another 2,796 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or the Hong Kong Housing Society. Relief suppliesOn the Government’s online platform for donated supplies, about 1,700 registrations have been received, with approximately 30% submitted by organisations. Over 19,500 donated items, covering various categories, have been distributed. Regulation workAs of 4pm today, the Labour Department had inspected 440 construction sites, issued a total of 226 written warnings and 105 improvement notices, and taken out 25 prosecutions.
Upon liaison with Police, the Housing Department will remove burnt scaffolding on the external walls of Wang Cheong House, Wang Tai House and Wang Sun House at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, starting this Friday. Meanwhile, the Buildings Department’s orders to remove scaffold nets has all been complied with. It will announce a new set of arrangements within this week requiring scaffold nets used at construction sites to be sampled on-site and certified as compliant with the relevant standards prior to installation, so that the relevant external wall work can resume as soon as possible. Financial supportAs of noon today, donations received by the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had reached about $3.1 billion. Combined with the $300 million in startup capital from the Government, this takes the fund to a total of around $3.4 billion. The fund will provide a living allowance to each affected household. As of today, 1,717 cases had been processed. The fund will also provide the families of each deceased victim with a $200,000 token of solidarity, as well as $50,000 to cover funeral costs. As of today, a total of 109 cases had been processed. Furthermore, the Government announced today that a new special one-off grant of $100,000 under the fund will be provided to flat owners at all the eight blocks at Wang Fuk Court. Social workers from the Social Welfare Department have been in contact with more than 1,980 affected households, and more than 4,900 residents have been registered for the “one social worker per household” follow-up service. Accommodation arrangementsAs of this morning, a total of 1,435 residents had been accommodated under the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps or hotel rooms. Another 2,677 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or the Hong Kong Housing Society. Separately, the temporary shelter at Tai Po Community Centre has ceased operation as users there have all relocated to the emergency accommodation arranged by the Government. The temporary shelter at Tung Cheong Street Community Hall will remain in operation until existing users have moved to the emergency accommodation. Relief suppliesOn the Government's online platform for donated supplies, about 1,700 registrations have been received, with approximately 30% submitted by organisations. Over 16,300 donated items, covering various categories, have been distributed. Regulation work The Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit has inspected the scaffoldings at Yee Kok Court in Sham Shui Po, On Kay Court in Kwun Tong, Sui Wo Court in Sha Tin, Ching Lai Court in Sham Shui Po and Fung Wah Estate in Chai Wan. The contractor concerned has completed removing all the miscellaneous items on the scaffolding. As of 4pm today, the Labour Department had inspected 404 construction sites, issued a total of 210 written warnings and 104 improvement notices, and taken out 25 prosecutions.
The Legal Aid Department (LAD) today announced that it has established a dedicated task force to implement support measures to assist individuals affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, in applying for legal aid in accordance with statutory requirements. The legal aid aims to handle litigation and related matters about personal injury claims, property damage claims and employees’ compensation claims, the department explained. Specifically, the LAD has co-ordinated with the Social Welfare Department to leverage the “one social worker per household” service to disseminate information on legal aid, such as details on the scope of the legal aid, application procedures and eligibility criteria. In addition, the LAD has established telephone hotlines (2867 4516 or 2399 2277) to address enquiries from the affected citizens about legal aid. To ensure that the affected citizens can obtain legal aid as soon as possible, the LAD will streamline the application procedures and deploy staff to expedite the processing of applications. Furthermore, seminars will be held to elaborate on legal aid application matters. Staff will offer assistance on site. Separately, taking into account the burden and needs of the affected citizens, the LAD will arrange legal representatives to handle their litigation upon approval of their legal aid applications. In this regard, the LAD reminds the prospective applicants not to arrange their own legal representation, and not give instructions or sign authorisation documents for legal services, in order to avoid incurring unnecessary costs and safeguard their own interests.
To offer support to individuals affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, the Judiciary announced today that all potential legal proceedings related to the incident will be handled with priority and expeditiously through a series of facilitative measures. A dedicated task group, headed by the Chief Judge of the High Court and comprising relevant court leaders and specialist judges, will be set up to ensure the swift handling of legal proceedings related to the incident at all court levels, without unduly compromising the administration of justice. The Judiciary will designate a team of support staff for handling probate-related matters relating to the deceased victims of the fire. The team will liaise with relevant government departments to disseminate essential information on probate-related matters to affected families. A special hotline 2840 1683 is in operation to answer enquiries. The Judiciary will also waive probate-related scheduled fees relating to the deceased victims. At the same time, the court will consider fee concessions for other court services. Additionally, the processing of coroner-related matters, including the issue of Certificates of the Fact of Death, will be expedited.
The Government has expressed profound sadness over the death of a senior police inspector who had been taking part in an advanced selection assessment for the Police’s Special Duties Unit. The officer, 31, lost consciousness after completing a dive in the waters off Lamma Island on December 4. He was immediately transported to Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment and passed away this evening. The force said it is investigating the incident and has temporarily suspended the advanced selection assessment exercise. Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung and Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung extended their deepest condolences to the officer’s family. Mrs Yeung added that the Civil Service Bureau is in contact with Police to assist the family during this sad and difficult period. Commissioner of Police Chow Yat-ming said he felt deep sorrow over the death of the officer, who joined the force in 2016. Attached to the Tactical Unit Headquarters, the officer had consistently shown enthusiasm and passion for his work, and was highly committed to his duties, Mr Tsang added.
Following the order to remove scaffold nets issued by the Buildings Department (BD), as of 6pm today, 224 private buildings have had their scaffold nets removed from external walls. Four cases undergoing removal work have requested an extension of time which the BD has accepted. It is expected that the work will be finished within this week. The removal work of scaffold nets from the remaining two private buildings has been affected by ongoing contractual disputes between the contractors and the incorporated owners. The BD has arranged for government contractors to carry out the work and will recover the costs later. Additionally, the Architectural Services Department has completed the removal of scaffold nets at the government buildings under its purview before the deadline. Financial supportAs of 1pm today, donations received for the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po have reached about $3 billion, on top of the $300 million startup capital from the Government, taking the fund's total to around $3.3 billion. The Government earlier announced that the fund will provide a living allowance to each affected household. As of today, 1,273 cases have been processed. The living allowance is increased from $50,000 to $100,000 and will be disbursed in phases. The fund will also provide families of each deceased victim with a token of solidarity of $200,000, as well as $50,000 to cover funeral costs. As of today, a total of 90 cases have been processed. The Government has so far disbursed an emergency subsidy of $10,000 to 1,931 households. Social workers from the Social Welfare Department have been in contact with more than 1,970 affected households, and more than 4,900 residents have been registered for the “one social worker per household” follow-up service. Accommodation arrangementsAs of this morning, a total of 1,408 residents have been accommodated through the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps or hotel rooms. Another 2,702 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or units from the Hong Kong Housing Society.Relief suppliesOn the supplies donation online platform, the Government has so far received about 1,600 registrations, of which approximately 30% were submitted by organisations. Over 4,800 pieces of donation items covering various categories have been distributed to different places. Regulation work As of 4pm today, the Labour Department has inspected 332 construction sites, issued a total of 170 written warnings and 95 improvement notices, and taken out 25 prosecutions.
The Government announced that it has so far disbursed an emergency subsidy of $10,000 to 1,931 households affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. As of 4pm today, donations received for the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po amount to about $3 billion, on top of the $300 million startup capital from the Government, taking the fund's total to around $3.3 billion. It earlier announced that the fund will provide a living allowance to each affected household. As of today, 1,125 cases have been processed. The living allowance has been increased from $50,000 to $100,000 and will be disbursed in phases. The fund will also provide families of each deceased victim with a token of solidarity of $200,000, as well as $50,000 to cover funeral costs. As of today, a total of 85 cases have been processed. Social workers from the Social Welfare Department have been in contact with more than 1,970 affected households, and more than 4,900 residents have been registered for the “one social worker per household” follow-up service. Accommodation supportAs of this morning, a total of 1,403 residents have been accommodated through the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps or hotel rooms. Another 2,599 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or units from the Hong Kong Housing Society. The Transport Department is steering public transport operators to enhance franchised bus services, green minibuses and residents' services (RS) to support residents affected by the fire who have been admitted into transitional housing in various districts. Among them, an additional shuttle bus service has been launched connecting Good House in Tai Po, Tai Po Centre and Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, while a supplementary RS has been introduced connecting THE STEP, a transitional housing project in Yuen Long, and Tai Po Market Station. Relief suppliesOn the supplies donation online platform, the Government has so far received over 1,500 registrations, of which approximately 30% were submitted by organisations. Over 4,800 pieces of donation items covering various categories have been distributed to different places.Inspection workAs of 3pm today, of the some 200 private buildings installed with scaffold nets, 175 have had their scaffold nets removed from the external walls. The removal work at another 52 private buildings is underway and expected to be completed in one to two days. Three applications requesting additional time involving three buildings were received, and the relevant contractors indicated that they will aim to finish the removal work by next week. The Buildings Department (BD) is now pressing ahead with the formulation of a new set of arrangements requiring the scaffold nets used at construction sites to be sampled on-site and certified as compliant with the relevant standards prior to installation. The BD aims to make an announcement within the next week so that the relevant external wall work can resume as soon as possible. In view of the suspension of repair work on external walls of those buildings, after joint deliberation by the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Development Bureau, the CIC will expand the quota of the current Multi-skilled/Skill Enhancement courses, which are tuition-free and with subsidies, and reserve 5,000 training places for affected workers, whose trades include plumbing, window framing, painting and decoration, plastering and bamboo scaffolding. Depending on the specific trade course and training hours, workers who complete the training and obtain qualifications can receive a maximum subsidy of $14,000 to $19,000. Applications for the programme will open on December 8. As of 4pm today, the Labour Department has inspected 318 construction sites, issued a total of 163 written warnings and 95 improvement notices, and has taken out 25 prosecutions.
Police's National Security Department today arrested a 71-year-old local man in Sheung Shui for “prejudicing of investigation of offences endangering national security” and “doing an act that has a seditious intention with a seditious intention” in contravention of sections 88 and 24 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance respectively. Investigations revealed that the arrested man was suspected of disclosing details of a case endangering national security, after assisting with the probe conducted earlier by department officers. He was also suspected of publishing multiple videos with seditious intention online, with content provoking hatred towards the central authorities, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Judiciary. The man is being detained for further enquiries. Police took law enforcement actions based on evidence and in accordance with the actual circumstances, and applied section 88 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance for the first time.