Hong Kong police arrest former project manager on suspicion of manslaughter over fatal crane collapse at construction site in 2022
- Police source says man was project manager at Aggressive Construction Company, which operated site and was banned from bidding for public works
- Tower crane weighing 65 tonnes collapsed and killed three workers at Housing Society site two years ago
Hong Kong police have arrested and charged a former construction company project manager for manslaughter over a rare tower crane collapse which killed three workers two years ago.
An engineer, meanwhile, was listed as wanted for his alleged role in the tragedy.
A police spokesman said that following an investigation and legal advice from the Department of Justice, officers from the Kowloon East regional crime unit arrested a 35-year-old man for manslaughter in Ngau Tau Kok on Tuesday.
The suspect was a project manager at Aggressive Construction Company at the time of the accident, police said.
The man, Kan Ho-kai, was previously an “authorised signatory” for Aggressive, and had appeared in court in January facing charges by the Buildings Department, the Post learned.
The charges alleged that Kan conducted building works in a manner that resulted in injury to individuals or damage to property, as stipulated by the Buildings Ordinance.
Kan is facing three counts of manslaughter and will appear in Kwun Tong Court on Thursday, the spokesman said.
The spokesman also said a 72-year-old outsourced registered structural engineer was wanted by police for his alleged involvement in the accident.
He was responsible for certifying the design data and drawings of the tower crane’s steel supporting frame. He was an independent checking engineer, and a grade T5 “technically competent person” under the system of the Buildings Department, the Post has learned.
Media reported he had escaped overseas.
Aggressive Construction Company was in charge of the Housing Society building site on Anderson Road in Sau Mau Ping where a 65-tonne tower crane collapsed onto containers being used as temporary offices, killing three workers and injuring another six in September 2022.
In a separate incident in October 2023, a 56-year-old electrician fell to his death at one of the company’s sites while laying cables for a Fire Services Department project on To Wah Road in Yau Ma Tei.
4 firms, 4 individuals prosecuted over deadly Hong Kong tower crane collapse
The company, a subsidiary of Great Harvest Group, is seeking to renew its licence which expired last April. It was also banned from bidding for public projects until the end of this year but was allowed to continue operating until authorities made a decision on the extension.
Aggressive Construction Company is involved in four public housing projects located in Shek Kip Mei, Tai Po, Tuen Mun and Tung Chung. They will yield about 14,000 flats by 2025.
Sister company Aggressive Construction Engineering was also denied its licence renewal last year by the Buildings Department.
A 55-year-old worker died in December 2022 after a steel beam fell on him at one of Aggressive Construction Engineering’s sites on Yau Tong’s Tung Yuen Street.
