Hong Kong authorities have suspended a contractor following the death of a worker at the same worksite where a crane collapse killed three workers in 2022.
The 47-year-old worker fell on Sunday while working on scaffolding the external wall of the building on the Anderson Road worksite in Sau Mau Ping, the Labour Department said. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
The worksite is a subsidised-sale housing project managed by the Housing Society, Hong Kong’s second largest public housing provider, providing 1,400 units.
The labour authorities suspended main contractor Hip Hing Construction’s operations on Sunday and launched an investigation into the incident.
“We commenced an immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident and have issued suspension notices to the contractors concerned,” the Labour Department said in a statement issued on Sunday.
All bamboo scaffolding work on the external walls of the buildings on the site will be suspended, it added.
The case has been classified as an industrial accident, with the cause of death pending autopsy reports. According to a preliminary investigation, the worker is understood to have slipped and fallen while unfastening his harness to swap positions with a colleague on the scaffolding.
The department also reminded employers to provide scaffolding workers with safety harnesses and to ensure the proper use of safety equipment.
Deadline rush in question
Meanwhile, unionists questioned whether the workers were working on Sunday because they were rushing to meet a deadline, and whether fewer supervisors were present as a result.
Chau Sze-kit, vice chair of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, questioned whether workers on the site were rushing to meet deadlines, as the site had previously been affected by work stoppages.
Fay Siu, chief executive of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, said there were some 60 workers on the site on Sunday, including licensed scaffolders and safety personnel.
“But I believe that compared with weekdays, there might have been fewer supervisory personnel on site,” Siu said.
The Housing Society said it would follow up on the incident with Hip Hing, cooperate with investigations and provide all feasible assistance to the bereaved family.
Hip Hing was previously involved in another fatal industrial accident last year at the Kai Tak Stadium site while it was being built.
See also: Hong Kong construction firm involved in fatal accidents files appeal after licence revoked
It became the project’s main contractor after the labour authorities suspended Aggressive Construction Company’s operations following the fatal crane collapse in September 2022.
Aggressive has since been prosecuted over its safety record, stripped of its licence, and prohibited from bidding for public works projects.
