Two Hong Kong construction workers have been charged with manslaughter nearly two years after a deadly bamboo scaffolding collapse in Kai Tak.
Scaffolding foreman Lai Cheuk-yuen, 48, and worker Fong Man-hung, 58, appeared at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts on Friday to face two counts of manslaughter following the incident in February last year that caused two deaths.
A 15-metre-by-eight-metre bamboo scaffolding collapsed at a construction site on Shing Fu Lane on February 20, 2024, hitting several workers.
Two female workers, aged 68 and 54, were rushed to United Christian Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
A male and two other female workers, aged 45 to 63, suffered injuries and were sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.
Police said on Friday that, upon investigation, they reclassified the case as manslaughter and arrested the two scaffolders in Ngau Tau Kok and Tseung Kwan O on Thursday.
Lai and Fong had not yet entered a plea in court on Friday as Magistrate Betty Lau adjourned the case until February 27 for further investigation.
The pair were granted bail on HK$300,000 cash and have to surrender their passports and report to a police station every day.
Switch to metal
Hong Kong authorities have strengthened safety requirements for bamboo scaffolding following a string of industrial accidents involving the centuries-old technique.
In April last year, the Labour Department revised the Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety, banning unauthorised alterations to bamboo scaffolds and enhancing requirements related to the supervision of workers.
The revised code of practice was approved by the legislature and came into force in October last year.
Later in March, the Development Bureau announced plans to “drive a wider adoption of metal scaffolds in public building works progressively” to improve safety, in a move that will gradually replace bamboo scaffolds.
Industrial accidents involving bamboo scaffolds have killed 23 people since 2018, according to official figures released in February.
Comparable data for metal scaffolds is not immediately available.
