Lawmakers Warn Govt With Tight Vote On MTR Probe

Legislators on Thursday voted down a motion on invoking Legco's special powers to investigate the Hung Hom MTR Station scandal – but only narrowly, with several pro-establishment lawmakers abstaining "to put pressure on the government".

The motion was rejected by 30 votes to 26, with four abstentions – by three Business and Professionals Alliance (BPA) lawmakers and the council's newest member, Chan Hoi-yan.

The BPA's Priscilla Leung told RTHK that her group wanted to put pressure on the government over the scandal.

She said although an independent commission of inquiry is already looking into the construction scare and the disappearance of thousands of documents, she does think Legco has a role to play in looking at whether the MTR Corporation needs to improve its management of such projects.

Leung said the concerns about the station are serious, and Legco may well eventually need to set up a select committee on the issue, depending on the findings of the independent inquiry and the government's response.

Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan, who tabled the motion, said she still hoped that the Director of Audit could look into the Hung Hom project from a financial point of view, so that Legco's Public Accounts Committee would have a chance to investigate the matter.