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Officials in Hong Kong have taken into custody 13 individuals on suspected charges of manslaughter in connection with last week’s catastrophic blaze, amid growing criticism over the detentions of citizens calling for accountability.

Ongoing Rescue Operations as Fatalities Climbs

Emergency services continued to search through the seven-building complex of the Wang Fuk Court estate in the Tai Po district on Monday, days after the city’s deadliest fire in seven and a half decades. The death toll reached one hundred and fifty-one and is anticipated to climb higher as the search goes on. About 40 people are still unaccounted for.

Construction Work Linked to Fire’s Cause

The estate, housing nearly five thousand people, had been undergoing extensive renovations that have been linked to the fire’s cause. In the aftermath, anger has escalated over reported previous safety breaches by the contractor working at the location and poor oversight of safety codes, fuelled by revelations that occupants had been complaining about the work for a twelve months.

Arrests Include Company Directors

On Monday afternoon, authorities said the anti-graft agency had detained 13 people over the disaster so far, including the executives and an engineering consultant of a construction company, and had “promptly initiated a thorough probe along the lines of involuntary manslaughter”.

Safety Failures Revealed

A top administrator stated that seven of twenty tested specimens of the scaffolding net used around the buildings did not meet fire-retardant standards. Initial testing had found materials were up to code, but the spokesperson said the cheaper, substandard netting had been put 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,” the official stated.

Citizens Detained Amid Demands for Answers

As accusations of safety lapses mount, alongside reports that official bodies had issued several apparently ignored cautions, residents have asked why no government figures have yet been held accountable. Instead, two civilians were reportedly taken into custody by national security police.

A person, named as a local student, was arrested over an internet appeal that made “four demands” for assured assistance for the victims and responsibility for those at to blame, including any negligent or responsible government officials.

Local media said the student was detained for “inciting disaffection”. Police did not confirm the arrest, saying only that they “will act according to the situation and in accordance with the legal framework”.

Local media also covered the arrest of a former district councillor.

Government Statement on Arrests

Asked about the detentions, the security chief said there had been “misleading statements online” that were aimed to threaten national security. “Therefore, we must take necessary steps, including law enforcement measures,” the official told a press conference. “Specifics of the operation cannot be revealed as they concern state security.”

Public Reaction and Comparisons Drawn

On local online platforms, people criticised the arrests of civilians. “State security must be given precedence even if the victims are still buried in the building,” said one.

Several users made parallels to mainland China. “There, these crimes are called ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’,” said one commenter. “It’s usually met with severe penalties. Social order overrides everything.”

A different user said: “Now that we are following the mainland’s methods, by targeting the person who asks questions, no one will dare to ask, and therefore Hong Kong’s governance will have no problems.”

Heightened Sensitivity and Community Response

The arrests followed advisories by security officials that they would take action against anyone considered to be using the tragedy to stir up “anti-China” feelings.

Before the detentions, authorities had already demonstrated heightened sensitivity to the public reaction. Since the suppression of earlier unrest, public assemblies have been strictly regulated. In the days following the fire, volunteer supporters quickly organized relief efforts, with many individuals using vehicles and transit to bring in mountains of clothes, supplies 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 individual was allegedly detained was launched on Friday evening. Its “four demands” mirrored the terminology of past protest movements but did not call for systemic reform.

The student told reporters that he was only “putting forward fundamental demands”.

“Should these suggestions are deemed subversive or ‘crossing the line’, then I believe I can’t predict the outcomes of anything any more, and I can only do what I sincerely think is right,” he said.