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Officials in the city have detained thirteen people on suspicion of manslaughter related to last week’s catastrophic blaze, amid growing criticism over the detentions of citizens demanding accountability.

Search Continues as Fatalities Rises

Emergency services continued to search through the seven-building complex of the Wang Fuk Court residential area in Tai Po on the start of the week, following the city’s deadliest fire in 75 years. The death toll reached one hundred and fifty-one and is expected to rise higher as the operation goes on. Approximately forty people are still unaccounted for.

Construction Work Connected with Cause of Blaze

The estate, housing almost 5,000 people, had been undergoing extensive renovations that have been associated with the fire’s cause. In the wake of the tragedy, public fury has escalated over reported previous safety breaches by the construction company working at the site and lax enforcement of safety codes, fuelled by revelations that occupants had been voicing concerns over the renovations for a year.

Arrests Include Corporate Executives

On Monday afternoon, authorities said anti-corruption authorities had detained thirteen people over the tragedy so far, including the directors and an technical advisor of a contracting firm, and had “promptly initiated a thorough probe along the lines of involuntary manslaughter”.

Safety Failures Revealed

A top administrator stated that 7 of 20 tested samples of the scaffolding net used around the buildings did not meet flame-resistance requirements. Initial testing had found samples were up to code, but the official said the cheaper, substandard material had been installed in areas hard to reach in order to evade detection, labeling it a “deplorable deed”.

“Their sole aim was to profit at the cost of people’s lives,” he said.

Civilians Detained Amid Calls for Answers

As accusations of safety lapses grow, alongside revelations that official bodies had issued several apparently unenforced warnings, residents have asked why no government figures have yet faced consequences. Conversely, two members of the public were reportedly arrested by national security police.

One individual, identified as a Hong Kong student, was detained over an online petition that made “four requests” for assured assistance for the affected families and accountability for those at fault, including any negligent or culpable government officials.

Reports said the student was detained for “inciting disaffection”. Police did not confirm the detention, saying only that they “will take actions according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law”.

Local media also covered the arrest of a ex-local representative.

Government Statement on Detentions

Asked about the arrests, the security chief said there had been “misleading statements on the internet” that were intended to undermine national security. “Therefore, we must take necessary steps, including police action,” the secretary told a press conference. “Specifics of the operation cannot be disclosed as they involve state security.”

Public Reaction and Comparisons Made

On local online platforms, people criticised the detention of citizens. “National security must be prioritised even if the victims are still buried in the structure,” said one.

Several users made parallels to mainland China. “The mainland, such acts are called ‘creating disturbances’,” said a user. “They are typically met with severe penalties. Social order trumps everything.”

A different user said: “Now that we are following mainland China’s methods, by targeting the individual who asks questions, nobody will dare to ask, and therefore Hong Kong’s governance will have no issues.”

Increased Scrutiny and Community Response

The detentions came after advisories by security officials that they would take action against anyone deemed to be using the tragedy to incite “hostile” feelings.

Before the arrests, authorities had already begun showing heightened sensitivity to the community response. Since the suppression of earlier protests, public assemblies have been tightly controlled. In the days following the fire, volunteer supporters rapidly established relief efforts, with hundreds of people employing vehicles and public transport to bring in large quantities of clothes, food and other necessities for the survivors.

However, by nightfall, armed police were patrolling the vicinity, and public authorities soon took over from the volunteer organisers.

The petition over which the individual was allegedly detained was initiated on Friday evening. Its “four points” mirrored the language of past protest movements but did not advocate political change.

The student told media that he was only “proposing very basic requests”.

“If these ideas are considered subversive or ‘transgressive’, then I feel I cannot foresee the outcomes of anything any more, and I can only do what I truly believe is right,” he stated.