Bosses at a workshop where a rat-chewed gas hose was found after three welders died in an explosion had rejected a suggestion it use poisoning to tackle its rodent problem and had bought traps and other devices instead, an inquest heard yesterday.
The Coroner's Court has heard a rubber hose in the workshop of construction company Bachy Soletanche Group Ltd, in Fairview Park, Yuen Long, had been bitten by rats repeatedly and had leaked oxyacetylene gas.
Three workers - welders Wu Hin-fai, 41, Cho Yip-hung, 66, and assistant foreman Siu King-fai, 60 - were killed in the blast at the workshop in February last year and four others injured.
Workshop manager Paul Lee said the company had taken steps in response to the rat problem, which was first drawn to his attention in 1999, when he told staff to contact the government department concerned.
The inquest heard officers who visited the workshop had proposed using rat poison, but the company had declined to adopt the policy.
'My staff felt this poison would cause an even worse hazard to health as there would be dead rats. So we ordered rat traps to catch live rats or sonic devices to scare them away,' Mr Lee said.
