The three task forces set up by the Government for the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po - the Task Force on Investigation and Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support and Fund-Raising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements - are making full efforts to follow up on the support, relief, and investigation work related to the incident. Details are as follows:
 
Financial and welfare support
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     For the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, established by the Government, donations received are about $3.8 billion as of noon today (December 25). With the start-up capital of $300 million from the Government, the fund's total has now reached around $4.1 billion. The fund will be used to assist residents in rebuilding their homes and providing long-term and sustained support.
 
Medical support
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     The Health Bureau (HHB) announced today the latest figures of the primary healthcare services provided to affected residents. Under the co-ordination of the Primary Healthcare Commission, the District Health Centres/District Health Centre Expresses (collectively referred to as DHCs) across all 18 districts in Hong Kong have set up hotlines since December 1 (see Annex 1) to provide personalised case management services for affected residents, offering more convenient and comprehensive medical support. The support includes pairing the affected residents with free consultation services, co-ordinating arrangements for follow-up appointments and medication refills at the Hospital Authority (HA)'s Family Medicine Out-patient (FMOP) Services as necessary and more (service workflow see Annex 2). More than 300 private family doctors, more than 360 Chinese medicine practitioners and more than 80 private dentists have participated in the free consultation and free denture replacement services. As of December 23, the hotlines have received over 176 enquiries in total.
 
     The HHB stressed that, the services co-ordinated by DHCs are not subject to district boundaries. For example, the Centres may assist affected residents in transferring HA FMOP follow-up appointments and medication refill service points, from the Tai Po District to another location, thereby sparing residents the need for travelling across districts.
 
     A total of 79 patients received treatment at various public hospitals due to the fire. As of December 23, 65 of them had already recovered and were discharged, and the remaining 14 are in stable condition. The HA has also provided necessary healthcare services to around 1 600 affected residents.
 
     From the time of the incident to December 23, the "18111 - Mental Health Support Hotline" has received around 660 calls related to the fire incident, and the WhatsApp service has handled about 50 messages concerning the fire incident. As of December 23, the HA's 24-hour Mental Health Direct hotline has received 89 calls related to the fire incident.
 
Accommodation support
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     Currently, there is still a supply of more than 1 000 units that can provide affected residents with longer-term accommodation. The transitional housing and the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) projects in different districts can altogether provide around 500 units at the moment. Moreover, Po Tin Interim Housing in Tuen Mun and Runway 1331 at Kai Tak can provide a supply of around 900 units.
 
     As of this morning, a total of 489 residents are staying in hotel rooms through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, and 551 residents are staying in youth hostels/camps. Another 3 591 residents are currently living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau, units from the HKHS or Po Tin Interim Housing in Tuen Mun.
 
Relief supplies and donations
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     The supplies donation online platform, established by the Government and the information technology sector, continues to operate, facilitating the registration of supplies donations from organisations and the public. The Government has so far received over 2 000 registrations, of which approximately 30 per cent were submitted by organisations, whereas the others were contributed by the public. The various registered donation items include food and beverages, clothing, daily necessities, bedding, and electrical appliances. The Government is actively assessing residents' actual needs through the relevant policy bureau, government departments, and service organisations for the matching of donated supplies in order to distribute appropriate items in phases to places in need. So far, over 51 000 donation items covering various categories have been distributed to different places. The matching and distribution of supplies will continue.
 
Investigation and regulation
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     The Police have arrested a total of 16 individuals on suspicion of manslaughter, including the male person-in-charge of the external wall repair subcontractor of the relevant project, who was arrested yesterday (December 24), and 15 others from various construction companies who were arrested earlier. All arrestees have been released on bail. The Police have accorded top priority to the case and are gathering evidence through various channels for a thorough and in-depth investigation. The possibility of further arrests is not ruled out.

Ends/Thursday, December 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 18:05

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