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Authorities in the city have taken into custody thirteen individuals on suspected charges of manslaughter in connection with last week’s devastating fire, amid increasing criticism over the arrests of citizens demanding responsibility.

Search Continues as Death Toll Climbs

Emergency services continued to search through the seven-building complex of the Wang Fuk Court estate in the Tai Po district on Monday, following the most fatal blaze in 75 years. The number of fatalities reached one hundred and fifty-one and is expected to rise higher as the search goes on. About forty people are currently unaccounted for.

Construction Work Connected with Cause of Blaze

The estate, housing almost 5,000 people, had been undergoing extensive renovations that have been linked to the origin of the blaze. In the wake of the tragedy, anger has grown 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 complaining about the renovations for a year.

Arrests Include Company Directors

On Monday afternoon, officials said the anti-graft agency had arrested thirteen people over the tragedy so far, including the executives and an engineering consultant of a contracting firm, and had “immediately begun comprehensive investigation along the lines of manslaughter”.

Safety Failures Uncovered

A senior official stated that seven of 20 tested samples of the scaffolding net used around the buildings did not meet fire-retardant standards. Preliminary checks had found samples were compliant, but the spokesperson said the cheaper, noncompliant netting had been installed in areas hard to reach in order to evade detection, labeling it a “shameful act”.

“They just wanted to make money at the cost of people’s lives,” he said.

Citizens Arrested Amid Calls for Answers

As allegations of safety lapses grow, alongside revelations that government authorities had issued several seemingly unenforced warnings, residents have questioned why no government figures have yet been held accountable. Instead, two members of the public were allegedly arrested by security forces.

A person, named as a local student, was detained over an online petition that made “four demands” for guaranteed support for the affected families and accountability for those at to blame, including any corrupt or culpable government officials.

Local media said the student was arrested for “seditious intention”. Police did not verify the arrest, saying only that they “will act according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law”.

News outlets also covered the detention of a former district councillor.

Official Response on Arrests

Questioned about the detentions, the secretary of security said there had been “misleading statements on the internet” that were intended to threaten public security. “As a result, we must take appropriate measures, including law enforcement measures,” the secretary told a press conference. “Specifics of the operation cannot be revealed as they concern state security.”

Public Reaction and Parallels Drawn

On Hong Kong social media, people criticised the detention of citizens. “National security must be given precedence even if the dead are still buried in the building,” said a comment.

Several users drew comparisons to mainland China. “There, these crimes are termed ‘creating disturbances’,” said a user. “It’s usually met with heavy sentences. Social order overrides everything.”

Another said: “Since we are following the mainland’s approach, by targeting the individual who asks questions, no one will dare to ask, and therefore the city's administration will have no issues.”

Heightened Sensitivity and Community Response

The arrests came after advisories by national security authorities that they would crack down on anyone deemed to be using the incident to stir up “anti-China” feelings.

Before the arrests, authorities had already demonstrated heightened sensitivity to the public reaction. Since the quelling of earlier unrest, public assemblies have been tightly controlled. In the immediate aftermath, community volunteers rapidly established relief efforts, with many individuals using vehicles and public transport to bring in mountains of clothes, food and other essentials for the survivors.

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

The petition over which the student was allegedly detained was initiated late on Friday. Its “four points” mirrored the terminology of past campaigns but did not advocate political change.

The individual informed reporters that he was only “proposing very basic demands”.

“If these ideas are deemed subversive or ‘transgressive’, then I feel I cannot foresee the consequences of any action any more, and I can only do what I sincerely think is correct,” he said.