Whisteblower In Legal Battle Over MTR Scandal Report

The whistleblower over the MTR's Shatin-Central Link construction scandal on Thursday filed for a judicial review over an investigation report that found Hung Hom MTR Station remains safe, despite the substandard work carried out there.

Jason Poon, a sub-contractor for the extension project at Hung Hom, is hoping to have the inquiry's findings overturned, saying his aim is to get a fresh probe into the affair because the government-appointed commission "did not do its job properly".

Poon, the managing director of China Technology, said the inquiry didn't bother to find out who was responsible for cutting short steel reinforcement bars.

He said that a supervisor had told the inquiry that he could recognise two workers seen cutting short the bars in a photograph, but the commission's chairman had stopped the testimony, saying the role of the panel was not to investigate any criminal wrongdoing.

"If we can identify the workers, then we can further examine who was the one instructing them to cut the bars," Poon said.

He also warned that more checks should be carried out on overhead structures at a platform at Hung Hom because passengers' safety could be at risk.

The commission's final report on the saga, which was released on May 12, found there had been "unacceptable incidents of poor workmanship on site compounded by lax supervision."

The report held both the MTR Corporation and the main contractor involved responsible for what it described as "serious deficiencies", while also saying the government had failed to fulfill its duty as the supervisor of the project.

Transport Secretary Frank Chan said on the day of the report's release that some paragraphs had been redacted pending possible future prosecutions.