August 1 was a black day for workers on a construction site in Sha Tin. In the pre-dawn heat of a summer's day, two workers for Sino Wealth Engineering descended through a manhole into the cramped confines of a sewer beneath a children's playground. Wong Keung and Cheung Shue-hung were to install water plugs and pumps before repairs to the underground system could begin. Colleagues were nearby but by the time they realised there was a problem, it was too late.
The men were reported missing within an hour and, after a frantic three-hour search, police were called by the foreman. The two workers lost their lives that day, overcome by fumes in the sewer. Three companies now face lawsuits for allegedly failing to provide a safe working environment, and the government has come in for harsh criticism over lax outsourcing regulations and high risks faced by workers.
As one of the thousands of industrial accidents that took place in Hong Kong each year, the case might have faded from public view if not for the fact that the workers were hired by a subcontractor not on the government's list.
The incident sparked a review of safety management by the Drainage Services Department, which insisted in a conference days after the tragedy that it had done its best in overseeing the works. The department pointed the finger at the main contractor, Shun Yuen Construction, saying it failed to observe the terms of the contract.
Two months after that tragedy in Sha Tin, the department has imposed stricter controls on subcontracting, limiting its future contracts for confined space operation to just one layer. Previously there was no such restriction.
The deaths of the Sha Tin workers have shed light on a worrying trend to employ several layers of subcontractors on building projects throughout Hong Kong, sometimes leading to relaxed safety regulations as small-time subcontractors place an emphasis on finishing a job quickly and at the cheapest possible cost.
