Engineer faces 160hr of service order over QM Hospital lift issues

Multiple elevators at the new Queen Mary Hospital block require repairs.

The inspecting lift engineer is sentenced to 160 hours of community service for improperly issuing a safety certificate and submitting false or misleading documents.

The defendant, Law Wing-chai, is former registered lift engineer. He inspected the lifts at Queen Mary Hospital's new clinical block and issued a safety certificate for the subcontractor.

It was earlier revealed that only four of the 28 lifts in the block are working. Authorities explain this is due to structural and dimensional deviations in the lifts shafts.

Under the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance, registered engineers must carefully inspect lifts and related machinery.

They can only issue a safety certificate if the design and construction are safe for operation.

Considering defendant's remorse and willingness to take responsibility, the court sentences him to 160 hours of community service for each of the two charges, to be served concurrently. Former Chairman of the Mechanical, Marine, Naval Architecture and Chemical Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, Szeto Ka-sing, says that after the conviction, the involved engineer's work is reviewed by the lift industry association for any wrongdoing, which may lead to the engineer's deregistration.

The next step involves the Engineers Registration Board seeking an explanation from him, and failure to explain properly may result in license suspension.

He also points out issuing a lift safety certificate requires proper examination of the opening and closing of doors, as well as the smoothness of the up and down movements.

If any problems are found in the system, they must be reported.