A repairman hired to tear down structures in an ageing To Kwa Wan tenement block did not use any stabilising structures on the day of its deadly collapse, although he had proposed buying such items, a court heard yesterday.
Chu Wai-wing (pictured), 74, had started work to remove an external wall and an illegal structure on the ground floor of 45J Ma Tau Wai Road on January 29, 2010, when the building collapsed, killing four people.
Chu is charged under the Buildings Ordinance with carrying out work likely to cause injury to people and damage to property. He faces up to three years in prison and a HK$1 million fine.
He is the only person facing criminal prosecution after the Coroner's Court found last year that the deaths were accidental and his role in the tragedy was minor.
Chu had been hired by the tenement's owner, Chak Oi-luen, to do repairs on the 55-year-old block since 2005, Kowloon City Court heard.
He had long noticed faults such as rotting columns and concrete peeling off ceilings, said prosecutor Bruce Tse Chee-ho, for the Buildings Department.