Hong Kong subcontractors cleared of perjury charge linked to 2015 inquiry into lead-tainted water
- District Court judge acquits the pair after accepting they may not have known the difference between leaded and lead-free solder
- The case stemmed from a 2015 commission of inquiry into excessive lead found in tap water at public housing estates, sparking a major scandal at the time
Two subcontractors accused of giving false evidence in an inquiry into tainted drinking water in Hong Kong public housing estates in 2015 have been acquitted after a judge accepted they may not have known the difference between leaded and lead-free solder at the time.
Defendants Mok Hoi-kwong, of Wing Hing Plumbing Drainage, and Siu Kin-wong, of Hang Lee Engineering Company, were each cleared of one count of perjury in the District Court on Saturday in a case centred on the accounts they gave of purchasing solder and installing pipes at six public housing estates in December 2015.
The court also found Mok not guilty of two counts of fraud, and likewise cleared Siu of one count of the same charge.
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In handing down his ruling, Deputy District Judge Charles Chan said the prosecution could not prove the pair had given false evidence.
Chan said the accounts of multiple witnesses for the prosecution reflected that the industry was not knowledgeable enough when it came to construction materials, while also noting that some of the evidence the court heard indicated their understanding of the matter was “very confused”.
“Even though solders can be classified as containing lead or lead-free, I feel that they might not necessarily have known about this during the construction,” he said of Mok and Siu.
“So when they told the inquiry they did not know about this, they did not intentionally give false evidence or evidence that they didn’t believe to be true.”
Subcontractor in tainted water scare says he didn’t know solder could contain lead
He added the duo would not have had any motive to commit fraud given that they were unaware of the different types of solder.
The pair’s companies were third-tier subcontractors for main contract holder Yau Lee Construction Company, which built six of the 11 public housing estates found to have excessive lead in their drinking water six years ago.
The scandal sparked public concern at the time, and prompted the establishment of a commission of inquiry in the same year.
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The judge-led inquiry found that Hong Kong had insufficient safety standards for drinking water, and warned that government supervision should not stop at the end of the city’s water pipes. Rather, it should go further to make sure water from the tap was safe for drinking.
The commission went on to blame the shortcomings on a “classic case of buck-passing”, and urged the government to retest the drinking water at all the city’s public housing estates.
