Today (May 1) is the twelfth day of phased arrangements for residents of seven blocks of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to return to their units. Five middle-zone floors of Wang Tai House and 11 high-zone floors of Wang Kin House were opened. The access arrangements were carried out in an orderly manner and operated smoothly.

     A total of 130 households (489 people) registered to return to their units today through the "one social worker per household" service, while 130 households (511 people) actually turned up.

     The average time residents spent entering and leaving the building today was two hours and 26 minutes, with the shortest time being 17 minutes and the longest three hours and 56 minutes. About 70 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than three hours. About 27 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than two hours. About 6 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than one hour.

     A total of 83 households (160 people) went up and down the building more than once. Among them, 52 households (113 people) made one additional trip, 24 households (37 people) made two additional trips, 6 households (8 people) made three additional trips, and 1 household (2 people) made five additional trips.

     ​The integrated enquiry counter set up by relevant departments today received seven cases requesting police assistance and two cases involving residents seeking help due to physical discomfort, as well as 1 case seeking psychological counselling services.

     The seven cases requesting police assistance involved suspected loss of property, including jewellery, cash and gold items. Officers were immediately deployed to assist in searches, and in three cases, the units concerned were severely damaged and residents believed after investigation that the property might have been destroyed by fire. For the remaining four cases, there were no signs of ransacking in the units, and the residents could not provide details on the property concerned.
      
     The Government spares no effort in supporting the residents returning to their units. Each day, the Government deploys over 1 000 personnel from various departments, including the Police, the Civil Aid Service, the Fire Services Department, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Home Affairs Department, the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the Housing Department, and the Housing Bureau, as well as District Services and Community Care Teams members. The "Government-wide Mobilisation" mechanism has also been activated to bring together greater interdepartmental resources to support residents.

     ​Under the "Government-wide Mobilisation" mechanism, the Civil Service Bureau has co-ordinated nine government departments to mobilise civil servants to form the Government Quick Response Unit to support these access arrangements. These civil servants come from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD), the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), the Environmental Protection Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Lands Department (LandsD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Post Office, and the Water Supplies Department (WSD). They will form dedicated teams with social workers and clinical psychologists from the SWD, stationed on different floors to provide support to residents returning to their units. The civil servants mobilised in the first three days were from the AFCD, those mobilised from the fourth day to the sixth day are from the EMSD and the LCSD, those mobilised from the seventh day to the ninth day are from the LandsD and the WSD, while those mobilised from the tenth day to the twelfth day (including today) are from the Post Office and the ArchSD.

Ends/Friday, May 1, 2026
Issued at HKT 20:56

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