Contractor Suspended After Fatal Chek Lap Kok Incident; Independent Safety Audit Required

Development Bureau imposes regulating actions on contractor involved in fatal industrial incident at non-governmental construction site in Chek Lap Kok

A spokesman for the Development Bureau (DEVB) said today (November8) that the contractor involved in the fatal industrial incident at a non-governmental construction site in Chek Lap Kok yesterday (November 7) was under the List of Approved Contractors for Public Works (the List).

The DEVB, being the party to procure services for public works, attaches great importance to the site safety performance of all construction sites under the purview of contractors on the List (regardless of whether the sites are governmental construction sites or not). The DEVB issued a notification to the contractor concerned today to suspend it from tendering for public works contracts in the buildings category with immediate effect pursuant to the regulating regime. The contractor concerned has to conduct an independent safety audit to review its safety management system. Taking cognisance of the outcome of the independent safety audit, the contractor is required to submit an improvement action plan and implement improvement measures, with a view to demonstrating that it has an effective safety management system before the lifting of the suspension from tendering can be considered. The suspension from tendering is not only confined to future tender exercises, but is also applicable to tender exercises with procedures initiated but not concluded.

The Labour Department is investigating this industrial incident and will handle it in accordance with the law. Subject to the investigation findings, the DEVB may impose further regulating actions on the contractor concerned later on, including extension of the period of suspension from tendering for public works contracts and even removal from the List.

Contractor fined for violation of safety legislation

A contractor (the defendant) was fined $90,000 at the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts today (November 8) for violations of the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations. The prosecutions were launched by the Labour Department (LD).

The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on May 7, 2022, during the maintenance work of a residential unit in Jordan, Kowloon. A scaffolder, while preparing a truss-out scaffold erection on an external wall, fell to the ground and died.

Since the summonses could not be served to the defendant successfully, and the defendant had been absent from previous hearings, the court upon the LD's application issued warrants for arresting the defendant. The defendant was then arrested and brought to court by the Police for the case hearings.

The LD adopts a zero-tolerance attitude towards unsafe working-at-height activities and will spare no effort to bring duty-holders who defy the law to justice.

Moreover, the revised Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety, which came into effect on October 19, enhances the safety requirements for truss-out scaffolding work. For details, please refer to the LD's press release issued on October 18.