POLICE yesterday charged a company with Hong Kong's first corporate manslaughter, in connection with a Quarry Bay lift plunge last June in which 12 people were killed.
Ajax Engineers and Surveyors Ltd - responsible for the inspection of the hoist - has been accused of negligence linked to the death of the workers. Lawyers for the company will appear in court on Tuesday.
Eastern District police assistant district commander (crime), Detective Superintendent Don Logan, said it was up to the company to decide whether senior executives should appear as well.
Also appearing in connection with the case will be four men already charged with unlawfully killing 16-year-old Fung Ka-hong in Java Road on June 2, 1993.
The defendants - site engineer Jackson Tam Ping-cheong, 36; assistant engineer Wong Hon-sang, 23; and electrical workers Kwong Tim-yau, 42, and Hui King-leung, 48 - are currently on bail of $50,000 each, having first appeared in court on December 2.
The court was told the four accused came from three companies. Tam was a site safety supervisor, Kwong and Hui were technicians with D & N Equipment Ltd and Wong worked for a surveying company.