Solidarity in hairy times for Dancer

The father and brother of the injured Mirror concert dancer Mo Lee Kai-yin said they have shaved their heads in support of Lee following the completion of the first stage of his acupuncture treatment.

Following Lee's hospitalization in intensive care for more than a month and a half at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, his pastor father Li Shing-lam posted a prayer letter on Saturday that also revealed that his son, who's paralysed from the neck down, had been transferred to the neurology special care ward and that acupuncture treatment had been completed.

Li said the shaving of their heads shows their willingness to sacrifice for Lee.

"We will grow our hair back to normal when he shows significant recovery," Li said.

In addition, Li also revealed that they had met other dancers, saying it's not only a time for them to embrace, support and encourage each other and also to learn more about the accident at the concert.

"In addition to praying for the recovery of Kai-yin, [Chang] Tsz-fung and Zisac [Law Tak-chi], please continue to pray for the physical and emotional recovery of all the dancers who are also in need of support, and for their stability and financial well-being after the incident," Li said.

His call came as labor representatives called on authorities to enhance promotion of occupational safety to construction stakeholders.

Legislative Council member Kwok Wai-keung said amendments to the occupational safety law, in which the penalty for serious violations is up to HK$500,000 and 12 months in prison could be passed this year to make it HK$10 million and three years in prison.

Kwok said the frequent occurrence of industrial accidents has led to an increase in insurance premiums, and contractors are unwilling to take out insurance, resulting in a vicious cycle.

Kwok also said there was no case in the past where the maximum penalty was imposed, and that contractors who knowingly and recklessly violated the law should be ousted.

Siu Sin-man, chief executive of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, pointed out that the previous fine does not reflect the seriousness of the accident and hoped the increased penalties would raise social awareness.

She also expects psychiatric treatment can be included in the pilot rehabilitation program for employees injured at work, as well as the establishment of a rehabilitation fund for employees in need of post-accident retraining resources to facilitate possible career changes.