Yau Lee Construction Company’s managing director testifies at inquiry commission that he never thought of doing anything substandard
JASMINE.SIU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 01 December, 2015, 5:24pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 01 December, 2015, 5:43pm
Conrad Wong Tin-cheung after testifying at the former Court of Final Appeal building in Central. Photo: Dickson Lee
The major contractor who built six of the 11 estates affected by a tainted water scandal admitted this morning that it had not been adequately vigilant with its long-time subcontractors, an inquiry commission heard.
The revelation came as Yau Lee Construction Company’s managing director Conrad Wong Tin-cheung said in his witness statement that the company, like other industry members before the crisis hit, was not sufficiently aware to inspect soldering materials used in their construction.
As the Housing Authority did not require such inspection nor did it provide invoices on purchases of soldering materials, Wong said his company did not require their subcontractors to do the same.
“The cost of solder is not high,” he said in his statement. “I never thought of using substandard materials.”
The inquiry commission was told that Yau Lee allowed its subcontractors – Wing Hing Plumbing Drainage and Hang Lee Engineering Company – to purchase soldering materials on their own because they were cheap and used up quickly.
Wong also said Yau Lee had cooperated with Wing Hing for over 20 years and knew Hang Lee’s staff to be experienced.
Since there was no problem with past construction projects, both Yau Lee and its subcontractor Ming Hop Company trusted Wing Hing and Hang Lee to provide them with quality solder, Wong said.
“Basically we have the responsibility to ensure safety,” he testified. “But we’ve worked with these contractors for a long time.”
“We weren’t alert enough. We weren’t vigilant enough.”
Asked if he was personally aware of soldering materials’ specifications before the crisis erupted in July, Wong replied: “Not personally. But my colleagues would know.”
“Do you know there is lead-containing and lead-free solder?” asked Richard Khaw, counsel for the commission inquiry.
Wong replied he was “not clear”.
The inquiry continues before High Court judge Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1885506/we-werent-alert-enough-hong-kong-contractor
