Stage engineering firm staff denies intent to mislead in 2022 Mirror concert screen collapse case

The stage engineering firm behind the giant screen that fell during local boy band Mirror’s concert in 2022 told the court that they had no intention to lie about the weight of the screen when they filed documents to the authorities.

Three project managers from Engineering Impact face charges of conspiring to defraud by misrepresenting the weights of the equipment. Ng Hoi-ying, 42, and Lam Chi-wah, 61, along with Joseph Leung Yiu-cho, 50, have denied the charges.

Prosecutors previously said that the company reported to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department that the hanging equipment weighed a total of 12,000 pounds. However, the actual weight was 50,000 pounds, over four times the declared amount.

In the closing arguments on Tuesday, the defense said the two weight declaration forms submitted to authorities were filled with “careless and stupid” mistakes, explaining that the defendants have never meant to deceive officials in the first place.

The defense lawyers argued that carelessness should not be considered as fraud, adding that there is no evidence showing that the trio coordinated their submissions regarding the concert's hanging equipment.

The case was adjourned until May 30 for verdict.

The trial stemmed from an incident in July 2022, when a mid-air LED screen crashed onto the stage at the Hong Kong Coliseum, injuring backup dancers Mo Lee Kai-yin and Cheung Tsz-fung. 

Lee, who had just turned 30, was left at risk of paralysis from the neck down but has since regained mobility.
(Jamie Liu)