In a joint operation, the Hong Kong police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) charged 7 individuals, including representatives from two contractors, Hung Ngai and Wang Yip, with a total of 25 counts in connection with the Wang Fuk Court fire case in Tai Po. The suspects were charged in court with manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and other offenses, and were remanded in custody.
Following the major fire, the Hong Kong government suddenly announced it would spend 6.8 billion HKD in public funds to completely buy out the property rights of over 1,700 disaster-affected households in Wang Fuk Court, demolish the buildings, and convert the site into a park, sparking public suspicion that this is an effort to destroy evidence of engineering corruption.
At the Beijing Politburo meeting the day after the Hongfuyuan fire, CCDI Secretary Li Xi presented irrefutable evidence of Ma Xingrui's corruption, and he was placed under isolated investigation on the spot.