Dancer's contract found but next moves still unclear

Authorities have obtained a copy of a contract between the production team and a dancer who was injured critically in a Cantopop show by boyband Mirror last month at the Hong Kong Coliseum where a gigantic screen that was falling struck his head, says Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun.

The 27-year-old dancer, Mo Lee Kai-yin, remains in critical condition in intensive care at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and has made "very minor progress" in his recovery, according to a prayer letter from his father yesterday.

Sun said authorities got their hands on an contract instead of relying on messages posted on WhatsApp, but they still need more to clarify details of his employment before acting.

"We can't disclose the terms used in the contract at the moment, but we will look at the key facts to identify whether it was self-employment or employment by a company," Sun said.

He also said Labour Department officers were trying to learn whether working gear such as costumes were provided by the production team or by the dancers. Sun added: "It's not so clear in the contract. But we need to establish whether there was an employment relationship before moving to look at the case under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance."

The stricken dancer's clergyman father, Derek Li Shing-lam, issued a fourth prayer letter that said his son has seen minor improvements after three weeks since the stage accident.

He also thanked people for sharing their experiences about treating vertebrae injuries and he hoped his son will have sufficient capacity to go through the experiences to come.

Sun also referred to an incident last Monday when an iron gate, 4.7 meters high and 2.5m wide, fell and killed a 43-year-old female security guard at Yau Ma Tei Maternal and Child Health Centre.

Sun said he attached great importance to the case, but he did not hold a press conference about it the next day like one the morning after the Mirror concert accident on July 29 because the Mirror case was "much more complex."

In any event, Sun said, authorities intend to act on a proposal to add a heat index to work safety guidelines.

That will also cover indoor work, and it will take effect in April ahead of next summer.

"We want to provide clear and objective data for employers and employees to study how they can adjust their work arrangements," he said.

Sun said he is intending to step up promotion of scaffolding safety by the end of the year.

Overall, he said, his motto is "make tomorrow better than today."

jane.cheung@singtaonewscorp.com