Contractor for accident-hit Mirror concert stands trial

Eunice Lam

Three staff members from Engineering Impact, the main contractor involved in the July 2022 concert incident with the local boy band Mirror, stood trial at the District Court yesterday for allegedly conspiring to defraud by misrepresenting equipment weights to authorities.

The defendants include Engineering Impact project managers Ng Hoi-ying, 42, and Lam Chi-wah, 61, along with Joseph Leung Yiu-cho, 50.

In the prosecution's opening statement, it was revealed that Engineering Impact submitted two reports to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department regarding the hanging hardware loading.

The company claimed the screen weighed only 272 kilograms and that the total weight of all hardware was around 5,440kg.

However, the actual weight of the screen exceeded 400kg, while the total hardware weight was about 22,700kg - 4.2 times heavier than reported.

On July 28, 2022, a massive screen collapsed during a Mirror performance at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom, injuring backup dancers Mo Lee Kai-yin and Cheung Tsz-fung.

The incident left Lee, who had just turned 30, at risk of paralysis from the neck down.

The prosecution detailed that on July 23, 2021, the concert organizer, Music Nation Group, applied to the LCSD to hold the event.

On July 5, 2022, the LCSD met with Music Nation and Engineering Impact, requesting hanging hardware loading reports and designs.

Ng submitted the required documents on July 13, which were subsequently forwarded to engineering consultancy Fugro (Hong Kong) Limited for structural safety review.On July 22, just six days before the incident, Ng sent a revised document to the LCSD, stating that the concert would feature six hanging screens totaling about 1,630kg and eight speakers weighing about 726kg.

Fugro conducted an on-site inspection and concluded there were no weight issues, issuing a safety certificate.

However, WhatsApp conversations between Ng and the screen supplier from May 2022 indicated that each screen actually weighed at least 435kg.

Wendy Tang Hiu-suen, the LCSD manager responsible for the Mirror concert booking, testified in court that she had only met with Ng and Lam during the meetings and was unaware that Hip Hing Loong Stage Engineering Company was responsible for mechanical engineering maintenance at the concert. The hearing continues today.