Three arrested in Hong Kong elevator safety fraud released on bail
Three men arrested over fraudulent elevator upgrades in public housing estates have been released on bail pending a police report in November. The suspects include a 79-year-old contractor director and two registered engineers aged 82 and 63.
Three men arrested in connection with a major safety fraud investigation involving critical elevator upgrades in public housing estates have been released on bail, police confirmed on Saturday.
The New Territories South Regional Headquarters said the suspects—including a 79-year-old elevator contractor director and two registered engineers aged 82 and 63—must report back to police in mid-November.
The arrests followed an electrical and mechanical safety probe into contractor Taizoom Elevator Company (HK) Limited. The firm was found to have falsely reported the completion of fire-rated elevator door installations at Pok Hong Estate in Sha Tin and Tsui Ping (North) Estate in Kwun Tong, leaving residents exposed to significant safety hazards.
While all three have been granted temporary bail, they remain under active criminal investigation for conspiracy to defraud and are legally required to report back to New Territories South police headquarters next month. The bail arrangements come after a large-scale police raid on the contractor's offices in Chai Wan, where detectives seized vital corporate records, including housing contracts, meeting minutes, and personnel files.
The criminal charges stem from a series of surprise government audits on 48 elevators across the Kwun Tong and Sha Tin residential estates. While the contractor had submitted official fire-resistance certification documents, inspectors discovered that the company had installed only the fire-resistant door panels while completely omitting the matching fire-resistant door frames—a critical defensive barrier required to prevent toxic smoke from rising through the building during a fire.
Under local laws, both the contractor and the registered inspectors are accused of deliberately concealing these building defects to falsely obtain contract payments from the respective housing estates’ owners' corporations and evade regulatory penalties. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has warned that it will pursue independent professional and disciplinary sanctions alongside the ongoing criminal investigation.