Leighton Queries Credibility Of MTR Probe Witness

A lawyer for Leighton, the main contractor linked to the Hung Hom MTR Station construction scandal, on Thursday questioned the credibility of an employee from a subcontractor who claimed he was specifically instructed by Leighton to ignore flawed works.

Ng Man-chun, the foreman overseeing bar-fixing works for sub-contractor Wing & Kwong at a number of stitch joints at the station, said not all rebars were properly fitted into the couplers at one stitch joint, because some couplers were embedded in concrete or couldn't link up properly.

He told a government-appointed inquiry that Leighton's engineer, Henry Lai, simply asked him to "do what he could" and go on with his work.

But Leighton’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Paul Shieh, cast doubt on whether that conversation really took place.

Shieh said it would have been common sense for Ng to mention Lai's instructions during a meeting that Leighton management requested after water seepage issues surfaced.

In response to Shieh's assertion, Ng said he was only asked brief questions during the short meeting, and he believed Leighton bosses already knew of the construction issues because they didn't ask him for more details.

A series of flaws have been found with construction work to extend Hung Hom MTR Station ready for the opening of the Shatin-Central Link. The controversy led to the departure of some senior MTR officials following strong criticism by the government.