Lawmakers From Both Camps Slam MTR Explanation

The deputy chairman of Legco's Subcommittee on Matters Relating to Railways, Ben Chan, said on Wednesday that he was disappointed by how slowly the MTR Corporation has been gathering facts about substandard works carried out at Hung Hom Station.

The lawmaker from the pro-government DAB party also said that Legco's special powers may be used if the rail operator fails to provide satisfactory answers.

MTR officials have told the government that they will miss its Thursday deadline to submit an investigation report and need another week to do so.

"We had very high expectations that they can explain all issues to the public. However, after their press conference, we still have many problems that we need to further understand and further ask them," said Chan.

He warned of setting up a judge-led investigation committee or asking Legco to even invoke its special powers to look into the saga if the rail operator still cannot address all unanswered questions in its report next week.

But the Democratic Party's Lam Cheuk-ting said Legco should go ahead and use its special powers to look into the matter straight away.

Lam, who's also the deputy chairman of Legco's Panel on Transport, said he had lost all confidence in the MTR Corporation.

"The MTR failed to explain the reason why they have to postpone the report. And the MTR failed to explain the matter thoroughly, especially why the contractor tried to cut the steel bars. The MTR should have issued warning letters to the contractor in August 2015, but the MTR failed to do so. And even worse, the MTR failed to disclose how many steel bars were cut," Lam said.

"It is totally unacceptable and absurd," the lawmaker added.