MTR Changes Story Over Hung Hom Safety Scare

MTR officials have backtracked on their earlier statement about when they became aware of shoddy construction work carried out at Hung Hom Station, after critics pointed out the corporation's original version of events couldn't be true.

On Wednesday, the general manager of the future Shatin-Central link, Jason Wong, said the operator was made aware in December 2015 that steel bars used to secure a platform floor to walls had been cut short to hide the fact they had not been fitted properly. Wong said the problem was then rectified.

But with concrete poured on top of the steel in September of that year, according to media reports, the bars would not have been visible and the issue could not have been fixed.

On Friday, at a meeting of Legco's railways subcommittee extended to discuss the safety concerns, MTR projects director Philco Wong told lawmakers that the flawed construction actually came to light in August 2015.

Engineers have expressed fears that the platform floor at the station could collapse if the steel bars weren't screwed in properly.

Transport Secretary Frank Chan, who was also at the Legco meeting, said action will definitely be taken if anyone is found to have broken the law over the substandard works, and the government would not rule out conducting its own investigation.

"If a criminal offence has been committed, if we have reasonable suspicion, then the government as well as the MTR Corporation should take appropriate action. But I believe that we should wait for the appropriate juncture for the corporation to give a full account to the public, that would be better," Chan said.

The government issued a statement on Thursday evening saying that after learning about the incident, Highways Department staff carried out an on-site inspection at Hung Hom Station on May 30, checking the construction work in question and looking at MTR inspection records.

The statement said no serious cracks or water leakage were found in the concrete structures.

Director of Highways Daniel Chung ordered the MTR Corporation to provide an incident report within a week and to arrange an independent expert to carry out tests as soon as possible in order to ease public concerns.