Lift firm Otis fined HK$320,000 over Hong Kong mall escalator accident that injured 18
Company, which pleaded guilty to four summonses, could have discovered safety issues with escalator three months before malfunction, court told
Otis Elevator Company (HK) was fined HK$320,000 (US$40,800) on Friday after it accepted responsibility for an escalator accident that injured 18 people in one of Hong Kong’s busiest shopping malls last year.
Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court heard that the company could have discovered safety issues with the escalator at Langham Place in Mong Kok three months before a malfunction on March 25.
At the time of the accident, 120 people were going up the 45-metre escalator when it stopped suddenly and reversed at high speed, sending dozens tumbling down. Of the 18 hurt, three were hospitalised with one man needing 21 stitches for a scalp wound.
A woman required two weeks of psychological treatment for the trauma she suffered.
In the city’s first such prosecution, a representative of Otis pleaded guilty to four summonses of failing to ensure maintenance work had been carried out properly. Each summons was punishable by a HK$100,000 fine and 12 months’ imprisonment.