THE parents of a scaffolder who plunged 10 storeys to his death after his employers failed to give him a safety harness won $300,000 in damages yesterday.

Lau Chi-lai, 26, died on April 14, 1992, just hours after falling from bamboo scaffolding he was erecting at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Sai Kung.

His employers, Kam Shing Scaffolding Works, and two subcontracting firms agreed to compensate Lau's parents for loss of income and bereavement in an out-of-court settlement.

The man's father Lau Wah-chun, 58, and his mother Lau Sau-chun, 54, were suing the companies for negligence. They have already been awarded $568,000 under the employees' compensation scheme.