MTR Welcomes Move To Call In Police

The Chairman of the MTR Corporation Frederick Ma said on Saturday that he welcomed the Highways Department's decision to bring in the police following accusations of shoddy work at the Hung Hom Station extension for the Shatin-to-Central rail link. It has been alleged some supporting metal bars on a platform had been cut short to give the impression they had been screwed into place correctly.

The Highways Department said on Friday that it had made a report to the police after suspecting criminal behaviour in relation to allegations targeting the main contractor, Leighton.

The move came after the MTR submitted a report to the government, highlighting conflicting accounts of the incident from Leighton and two subcontractors, China Technology and Fang Sheung.

Speaking on a radio programme, Ma said a police investigation would help get to the bottom of what actually happened. He said the railway company's hands were tied when it came to conducting its own investigation because its contractors, and subcontractors, were not always willing to divulge all information due to legal considerations.

Ma also said that the corporation's CEO Lincoln Leong only came to know about the alleged substandard work in May after the media reported it.

He said the situation was undesirable and the railway company would consider how best to improve its reporting mechanism.

The railway head also apologised for a controversial remark he made last month, telling journalists to trust the corporation because it would be meaningless to give them more information since they were not experts.

Ma stressed that he understood that transparency was of paramount importance and reassured members of the public that the railway company will release as much information as it can. But he and his team refused to take questions from reporters after attending the radio programme.