SCMP Interviews Felix Ng on Criminal & Antitrust Issues After Tai Po Fire
Felix Ng, Partner of Criminal Defence department and Head of Antitrust and Competition Law practice, attended two interviews by SCMP to explore criminal and competition law issues following the tragic Tai Po fire incident in late 2025.
On 26 November 2025, Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong faced the deadliest fire in recent decades, prompting a call from various sectors to tighten sanctions against bid-rigging while introducing class-action mechanisms to assist victims.
Bid-rigging – Criminal Offences
During the interviews, Felix examined the historical context of bid-rigging and other forms of corrupted practices which has plagued Hong Kong for decades, particularly in the construction industry.
A classic example of bid-rigging: competitors in a tendering process for government construction or building management projects collude and submit “dummy bids” at inflated prices, often with falsified documents and bribery involved, to ensure that the pre-determined party win the contract at the lowest bid price.
In Felix’s criminal litigation experience, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) have been combating bid-rigging practices in the past decades using criminal offences such as:
- Fraud (section 16A of the Theft Ordinance, Cap 210);
- Conspiracy to Defraud (common law offence);
- Using a False Instrument (Section 73 of the Crimes Ordinance, Cap 200); and
- Forgery (Section 71 of the Crimes Ordinance).
If corruption and bribery are involved, the ICAC will normally investigate and prosecute under Section 9 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap 201), namely, offences of soliciting, accepting or offering advantages in the private sector.
Bid-rigging – Competition Law Aspects
Felix then explained the additional antitrust / competition law angle for bid-rigging and other cartel conduct since the inception of the Competition Ordinance (Cap 619) in December 2015. Specifically, the First Conduct Rule (Section 6 of the Competition Ordinance) prohibits anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices whose object or effect is to prevent, restrict or distort competition in Hong Kong.
Bid-rigging among competitors is considered “Serious Anticompetitive Conduct” under the First Conduct Rule and is one of the major investigation focuses of the Competition Commission in the past decade.
Felix elaborated on the recent Competition Tribunal enforcement proceedings involving bid-rigging, price-fixing and market sharing in various public housing and building maintenance projects. He also highlighted the recent trend of the Competition Commission conducting joint operations with the ICAC and the Hong Kong Police Force against such malpractices, including “Operation Janus” in September 2025, and the prevalence of bid-rigging in the IT sector involving government-funded projects.
Potential Reform – Class Action?
On the other hand, while victims can commence “follow-on” actions against cartel members or bid-rigging culprits once an infringement has been established by the Competition Tribunal (Section 110 of the Competition Ordinance), there is currently no general class-action mechanism allowing parties who share the same interest to collectively sue the wrongdoers for compensation and other civil damages.
Felix explained that such mechanism would be especially important for Tai Po fire victims who may not have ample resources to pursue complex and costly civil litigation on an individual basis. He then explored the “opt-out” class action regime proposed by the Law Reform Commission in 2009, which was intended to facilitate multiparty litigation on consumer disputes and could form the basis for possible reforms in the future.
Read more from SCMP:
SCMP 1st Interview with Felix Ng – “Can Hong Kong find quick fixes for corruption in building maintenance sector”
SCMP 2nd Interview with Felix Ng – “Why delayed reform stands in the way of class-action lawsuit over Hong Kong fire”
