Hong Kong Mirror accident: government department not liable for stage safety, court hears
Coliseum employee who oversaw Cantopop boy band concert says organiser responsible for ensuring installations, including giant screens, are safe
A Hong Kong Coliseum deputy manager who oversaw the coordination of a series of concerts by Cantopop boy band Mirror told a fraud trial on Friday her government department was not responsible for stage safety or required to inspect platform installations, including a giant screen that collapsed and injured two dancers.
Kiki Wong Wing-ki told the District Court the Leisure and Cultural Services Department relied on a report submitted by an engineering consultancy hired by the concert organiser to confirm the safety of the concerts initially scheduled to run from July 25 to August 6 in 2022.
The run of shows was halted after the incident took place on the fourth day of the show.
She stressed that it was the organiser’s duty to ensure stage safety by obtaining an assessment report compiled by an engineering consultancy firm.
The defence counsel asked the concert coordinator whether the department was required to ensure the six overhanging screens or other objects attached to the ceiling rigging were securely installed.
“We would not know because we were not responsible for this [area of work]. The organiser should take care of the props belonging to them,” Wong said.
Wong was testifying in a trial stemming from the incident when the four-by-four-metre (13-by-13-foot) screen fell into the stage on July 28, 2022, leaving dancers Mo Li Kai-yin with severe spinal injuries and Chang Tsz-fung with a fractured pelvis.
