Credibility of whistle-blower who exposed construction scandal on HK$97.1 billion Sha Tin-Central rail link called into question
- Lawyers challenge evidence from managing director of China Technology during inquiry into shoddy work at Hung Hom station
- Media reports revealed in May that steel bars had been cut short to hide improper installation
The credibility of a subcontractor who exposed a construction scandal on Hong Kong’s most expensive rail project was called into question on Thursday after discrepancies were found in witness statements.
Lawyers for both the main contractor and the rail operator challenged evidence given by Jason Poon Chuk-hung, managing director of subcontractor China Technology Corporation, and his employees at an inquiry into shoddy work at Hung Hom station on the HK$97.1 billion (US$13 billion) Sha Tin-Central link.
The scandal first erupted in May when media reports revealed steel bars had been cut short to hide improper installation into couplers on the platform.
China Technology’s superintendent Thomas Ngai Lai-chi told the commission he saw two workers cutting threaded rebars with a small red grinding or cutting machine at the site in December 2015.
Ngai said it was the only incident he witnessed during a roughly six-month period that began in October 2015.