Hong Kong leader vows accountability over faulty lifts at Queen Mary Hospital

Hong Kong authorities will hold construction firms and government personnel accountable for faulty lift installation work at Queen Mary Hospital’s new block, the city’s leader has said, as he tasked the Development Bureau with submitting a report within a month.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that he had instructed the bureau, which had given him a preliminary briefing, to “thoroughly investigate the matter and report within a month”.

“We will pursue accountability, including contractors, subcontractors, engineering personnel and professionals. And if there are government personnel involved, we will pursue their accountability as well,” he said ahead of his meeting with the Executive Council. “We also need to identify where and whether the system has any inadequacies and rectify them.

“To consider what further action we will do, we must first find very clearly about what happened, where are the inadequacies, and whether any person who should be held accountable, we should pursue their accountability. After we have found out the facts, then we will decide what further steps we shall take.”