Hong Kong competition body mulls criminalising bid-rigging after deadly Tai Po blaze

Hong Kong’s competition watchdog has announced that it is considering criminalising bid-rigging , proposing a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment. Barrister Jat Sew-tong, chairperson of the Competition Commission, announced on Friday plans to amend the Competition Ordinance to criminalise bid-rigging, local media reported . Barrister Jat Sew-tong. File photo: GovHK. The commission hopes to table the amendment by the end of this year, Jat said, adding that the proposed maximum penalty would be seven years in jail. Under the Competition Ordinance, bid-rigging is currently a civil violation, not a criminal offence, and it is penalised with a fine. Jat said that he had been discussing the proposal with the city’s leader John Lee and the Hong Kong Bar Association, NowTV reported . He said Lee had conveyed “orders” or “expectations” but did not specify what. The commission’s move comes after a deadly fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in Tai Po, in November. The estate was undergoing a large-scale renovation at the time of the fire. The blaze, which claimed 168 lives, has brought to light the widespread issue of bid-rigging and corruption in major maintenance works at residential buildings. Residents told HKFP in February that they had suspected graft and bid-rigging in the renovation project, and had attempted to report it to authorities without any success. People watch smoke coming from Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 27, 2025, a day after the fire broke out at the housing estate. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Jat also said on Friday that investigations by the Competition Commission revealed triads were involved in rigging bids for many large-scale maintenance projects. However, due to the Competition Ordinance’s limitations, the commission cannot prosecute the cases and has to transfer them to law enforcement departments. The Competition Commission is a statutory body established under the Competition Ordinance in 2012. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said in February that the city’s corruption watchdog had received multiple complaints involving bid-rigging in building maintenance works over the past five years. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) received 24 complaints in 2025, more than double the number in 2021, Linn said.