Hong Kong government must fix loopholes in system to avoid repeat of mega bridge scandal, lawmaker says
He wants system to safeguard against falsification of tests after employees of lab service contractor were accused of switching concrete samples during safety testing
The Hong Kong government needs to plug loopholes in the system overseeing laboratories in the city, a pan-democratic lawmaker has urged, to avoid a repeat of the corruption scandal plaguing the multibillion-dollar Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.
Edward Yiu Chung-yim’s call on Thursday cameafter 21 employees of lab service contractor Jacobs China were arrested by graft-busters last month. The 21 are accused of faking concrete test results for the bridge project by altering time stamps and switching samples in order to meet compressive strength standards.
In a reply to the Post, the contractor’s US-based mother company Jacobs Engineering Group confirmed it was cooperating with Hong Kong officials in an investigation relating to a materials testing laboratory, staffed by technicians from its subsidiary.
Yiu, representing the planning and surveying sector, said the concrete scandal had exposed severe loopholes in the quality control system that oversaw the safety tests done by laboratories.
“It is not the first time we’ve heard about a lab switching test samples in order to pass the test. It concerns the conduct of the staff and also the lack of supervision on the labs’ operation,” he said.
To safeguard against any falsification of results, Yiu suggested that for the testing of any public works projects, the government should split the samples for two labs to conduct their own tests. “This will allow the government to cross-check the test results from two separate labs and reduce the risk of falsification,” he said.