Clarify crime thresholds and immunity in bid-rigging law: Hong Kong Bar Association

The Hong Kong Bar Association has called on the government to clearly define criminal thresholds and resolve whistle-blower immunity rules under its plan to outlaw bid-rigging following the deadly Tai Po inferno.

A task force formed by the association, which represents the city’s barristers, spent 10 months reviewing four key areas of law and published a 140-page report on Sunday in the hope of providing direction to address the shortcomings that led to the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze last November.

While its suggestion to criminalise bid-rigging, which was put forward in May, was adopted by the government as part of a basket of reforms unveiled last week, the association stressed the elements of the crime, including the definition of bid-rigging, the burden of proof and mens rea, must be clearly defined.

Mens rea is the legal standard requiring prosecutors to prove a defendant intended to commit a crime, or acted with criminal knowledge or recklessness, rather than by accident.

Currently, bid-rigging is categorised as a civil contravention and the Competition Commission pursues offenders through the Competition Tribunal.

06:48

Hong Kong government apologises for deadly Wang Fuk Court fire, housing secretary Winnie Ho resigns

But with the Competition Ordinance to be amended to make the practice a criminal offence as well, clarification was needed over how immunity provided under civil leniency arrangements would work when criminal charges were laid, the association said.

“This is important so as to ensure that the proper incentive is maintained for potential whistle-blowers to come forward and assist the authorities in uncovering anti-competitive behaviour,” it said.

Under the reforms put forward by the government, offenders will face a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$10 million (US$1.28 million).

At a press conference, association chairman Jose-Antonio Maurellet was asked whether the high threshold of proof for criminal prosecution risked turning the new dual-track mechanism into a “toothless tiger”.

“The burden of proof for criminal offences is relatively high, but that exists to ensure proper safeguards for defendants. This does not apply only to bid-rigging,” he said. “But we observed that in other offences, the prosecution has achieved a very high success rate in proving guilt.”

Maurellet explained that the criminal track should be pursued if authorities determined the evidence “provides a reasonable prospect of convicting a criminal offence” and if it served the public interest. Otherwise, the case should be directed to the civil track, he said.

The government’s measures followed a long-awaited report by an independent committee that singled out the Buildings Department, the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit, the Fire Services Department and the Labour Department for accountability.

The blaze broke out on November 26, 2025, engulfing seven of the estate’s eight buildings, killing 168 people.

At the time, all blocks were covered in scaffolding as part of a HK$336 million (US$42.85 million) facade renovation.