My Take | More must be done to protect the city’s construction workers
- After Hong Kong’s worst site accident 30 years ago, there were new laws and promises of lessons learned. But today there are still far too many deaths
Thirty years ago, 12 construction workers boarded a mesh cage passenger hoist, known as “the heavenly ladder”, and soared to the 20th floor.
Then suddenly there was a click and the lift plunged to the third-floor podium below at a speed of 88km/h. Tragically, all the workers were killed. This disaster in North Point, on June 2, 1993, was Hong Kong’s worst construction site accident and it led to the city’s first corporate manslaughter case.
The three-month trial, one of the first big cases I covered for the South China Morning Post, left a deep impression on me.
During the proceedings, witnesses involved in the project faced allegations of being ignorant of safety regulations, failing to instruct staff properly and leaving innocent employees to take the blame. It emerged that the lift was in an appalling condition and yet had been certified safe by unqualified inspectors.
Ultimately, only one conviction stood. Ajax Engineers and Surveyors Ltd, responsible for inspecting the hoist, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was fined HK$3 million. The judge, Mr Justice Joseph Duffy, lamented that he “cannot send a company to prison”.
The case served as a damning indictment on Hong Kong’s construction industry and its lack of regard for safety procedures. There were promises that lessons would be learned. New laws were swiftly introduced.