Hong Kong lawmaker urges stronger oversight of lift installations after safety breaches
Lawmaker Holden Chow called for tighter government supervision of lift engineering after escalators in housing estates and a hospital were found with fire-resistant door frame failures and shaft deviations, raising systemic safety concerns.
A Hong Kong lawmaker has called for stronger government oversight of lift engineering after multiple housing estates and a hospital were found to have installation defects, including missing fire-resistant door frames and shaft dimension errors.
In the Legislative Council, Holden Chow of the Democratic Alliance for the Citizens (DAB) filed a written question on the issue after the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) uncovered that several lifts in various residential estates had not been fitted with fire-resistant door frame components as required by specifications. Earlier, newly installed lifts at the new clinical building of Queen Mary Hospital were also found to have shaft dimension deviations and installation problems.
Speaking on RTHK's programme "Yat Cheng Four Fong", Chow cited the case of Siu Hong Court as an example, where multiple lifts were found to lack fire-resistant door frame components. The government swiftly dispatched inspectors and carried out repair and renewal work. Chow stressed the need to understand why the problems occurred, whether random checks or contractor oversight were adequate, and whether other contractors had similar issues.
"In the past, we may have relied on a system of integrity, but if random checks and oversight are insufficient, lapses could develop over time," Chow said, calling for a comprehensive review.
Regarding the Queen Mary Hospital lift problems, Chow said he believed the government had done its best, but questioned whether the incidents involved safety hazards or systemic issues that warranted attention.
