Manager faces manslaughter charges over crane collapse

A 35-year-old former project manager, Kan Ho-kai, faced charges of manslaughter at the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts yesterday. The charges were related to a crane collapse that occurred at a construction site owned by Aggressive Construction Company on Anderson Road two years ago, resulting in the death of three workers.

Kan, who claimed to be unemployed, was accused of unlawfully causing the deaths of Hsu Man-ming, Poon Ho-yuk, and Chui Hok-pui on September 7, 2022, at the construction site in Sau Mau Ping. During his appearance before acting principal magistrate Winnie Lau Yee-wan, no plea was taken.

Kan was emotional in the courtroom and applied for bail, shedding tears and displaying visible distress. His lawyer, senior counsel Vinci Lam Wing-sai, said that Kan was willing to submit HK$500,000 in cash for bail and would comply with reporting to the police three times a week.

However, the bail application was rejected, and Kan was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on July 30. The prosecution plans to request a transfer of the case to the High Court.

Kan - who was the project manager at the time of the fatal accident - was arrested by the police on April 30. According to the prosecution, Kan was the authorized signatory for the main contractor of the construction project and was responsible for submitting the design of the crane's base.

The prosecution also said that another individual involved in the case has fled Hong Kong and is currently on the police's wanted list.

It is known that Kan obtained a Bachelor of Science in Building Engineering and Management from the Polytechnic University in 2010. After graduation, he served as a project coordinator before being promoted to project manager. In 2015, Kan enrolled in a master's degree program in construction law and dispute resolution at PolyU. He resigned from Aggressive Construction Company in April.

Aggressive Construction Company has been involved in three fatal industrial accidents resulting in five casualties since 2020. These incidents include the crane collapse at the Anderson Road site in September 2022, the death of an electrician at a Yau Ma Tei site in October of the previous year, and the electrocution of a worker at a Kowloon Bay construction site in July 2020.

Following the Anderson Road site accident, the company was banned from participating in tendering for public works projects.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com