Screen was tilted day before it fell in Mirror concert, court hears

Eunice Lam

A project manager from the supplier of a giant LED screen testified in the District Court yesterday that the screen had been tilted a day before it fell during a concert in July 2022 featuring the local boy band Mirror.

Despite this, no one suggested stopping its use or removing it.

The trial of three staff members from Engineering Impact - the main contractor involved in the incident - resumed yesterday.

The defendants are project managers Ng Hoi-ying, 42, and Lam Chi-wah, 61, along with Joseph Leung Yiu-cho, 50. They face charges of conspiring to defraud by misrepresenting the weights of the equipment.

The accident occurred on July 28, 2022, when a large screen fell from above the concert 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.

Earlier court proceedings revealed the actual weight of the combined hardware was approximately 22,700 kilograms - 4.2 times heavier than the figure reported by Engineering Impact to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

Lam Tsz-kong, project manager from In Technical Production Limited and responsible for the installation of the screens, said he was informed about the tilted screen a day before the incident.

He inspected the setup at the venue with the mechanical contractor Hip Hing Loong Stage Engineering Company.

Despite discussions, no one recommended stopping the use of the tilted screen or removing it.

Lam also said he represented his company at two Mirror concert meetings in June 2022. During a meeting on June 15, In Technical Production was assigned to handle the installation of the LED screens.

On July 18 and 19, 2022, Lam was at the Coliseum to set up screen cables and install the screens on the hanging frames.

Lam acknowledged the hanging frames came from a Dongguan-based stage production house - a long-time partner of In Technical Production.