Hong Kong Arrests 71-Year-Old Over Alleged 'Seditious' Social Posts After Deadly Tower Blaze

Man Detained After Posts Criticising Authorities

Hong Kong's national security unit arrested a 71-year-old man on Saturday in what police described as the first publicly confirmed detention linked to criticism of officials after a high-rise apartment fire that killed at least 159 people.

Police said the man is accused of posting "information with seditious intention" on social media that allegedly sought to "incite hatred" toward the Hong Kong and central governments. Steve Li, chief superintendent of the police National Security Department, told reporters the posts suggested authorities were "instigators" exploiting the tragedy to create chaos — a claim he called "totally impossible."

Officers also said the man is suspected of disclosing details related to a national security probe after being asked on Dec. 2 to assist at a police station and warned not to publish information. Authorities said he then publicly released some or all of those details and may have been attempting to tip off others involved in the case.

Blaze and Ongoing Investigations

The fire broke out on Nov. 26 at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex. The government has said it will set up an independent committee to investigate the cause of the blaze. At least 21 people have been arrested in inquiries into suspected corruption and negligence linked to a renovation project at the complex.

Investigators have pointed to substandard green scaffolding netting, foam boards affixed to windows and some nonfunctional fire alarms as key factors that allowed the fire to spread rapidly across seven of the development's eight residential towers.

Authorities Warn Against Misinformation And Provocation

Local media reported other detentions, including the organizer of a petition calling for government accountability, though police did not confirm all those reports. Li said officers had detected a significant amount of false information about the fire that they believed aimed to incite hatred toward Hong Kong and Beijing.

"We discovered that he had brazenly released all (or) some of those details on social media," Li said, describing the alleged disclosure after police warnings.

Li also said some people distributed pamphlets and put up slogans near the scene in what he likened to the tactics used during the mass anti-government protests in 2019. Those protests prompted a broad government crackdown that has sharply reduced public political dissent.

With a legislative election approaching, authorities said all candidates on the ballot were vetted for loyalty to Beijing and that there were no opposition contenders. Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee, warned officials would act against anyone who seeks to "sabotage the commitment of society."