On the night of Jul 28, a massive LED panel fell from the ceiling during the MIRROR Concert in Hong Kong, leaving two dancers badly injured. One remains at the hospital to date. The Investigation Report on the incident released by the Hong Kong government recently shows the fallen LED panel weighs 2.7 times more than declared. Police arrested five staff from the contractors.
Mo Lee, one of the injured dancers, is suffering from severe damage to his cervical spine and is still in the hospital.
First Arrests Since the Incident
The Hong Kong Police Force arrested four males and one female, aged 40 to 63, at around 6 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2022, the morning before the investigation report was released.The police arrested five staff members in charge of the MIRROR’s Concert stage projects. Of the five, four were the operation director, project manager, and technical coordinator from the primary contractor, Engineering Impact Limited.
Metal Fatigue Was the Initial Assessment
On Sep 23, the Task Force established by the Hong Kong government for the concert incident investigation said metal fatigue was the main cause of the incident initially.However, in the newly released document, the Task Force stated that too many factors could impact the metal fatigue, so it could not conclude which party was entirely responsible for the incident at the time.
The Task Force also stated that it was difficult for the unit, the police, and the Labor Department to reach a consensus on how to word the report, which required constant revision.
It was only relatively recently that the Task Force submitted the result to the Department of Justice, which instigated a delay in releasing the conclusion.
The Task Force led by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is responsible for investigating the causes of the Mirror concert incident.
The LCSD’s Task Force appointed electrical and mechanical engineers from various departments and Dr. Eric Lim as an expert adviser for the ongoing investigation.
Superintendent of Crime (Operation) for Crime Kowloon West Police Headquarters, Alan Chung Nga-lun, elaborated in the news conference, saying, “Engineering Impact Ltd, the concert’s main contractor, was responsible for stage management and setting up safely and soundly. On the other hand, subcontractor Hip Hing Loong provided, examined, installed, and performed the operation of the fallen LED panel.”
The report found that a mainland Chinese manufacturer provided the elevation equipment, metal wires, and mechanical parts used for the concert.
Trouble Already Ahead of the Show
On the morning of the LED panel incident, there was a report of the same LED panel having elevation issues.Chung did not indicate the specifics when asked what issues occurred before the concert. However, he mentioned the CCTV footage showed some employees of Hip Hing Loong had climbed up to reach the LED panel using a ladder. They then inspected the LED screen and wiring of the one which fell later.
False Reporting of Actual Device Weights
In the report submitted by LCSD, the main contractor Engineering Impact Ltd falsely reported the total weight of multiple devices to get the concert approved as soon as possible. According to Chung, four arrested artists were involved in false reporting.After careful inspection by the appointed expert adviser revealed that the six LED screens weighed 9,852 pounds. Yet, Engineering Impact Ltd. only declared 3,600 pounds, about 37 percent of the total weight.
The hanging lights, as well, according to the LCSD report, were 4.8 times over the declared weight of 1,080 pounds, totaling 5,141 pounds in reality.
The laser lights used in the concert weighed 756 instead of the 200 pounds submitted on the form.
“The most exaggerated claim was the eight sets of concert speakers. They weighed 12,240 pounds. But the contractor only declared 1,600 pounds, which is seven times less than the actual weight.” the police detailed.
Chung said there was false reporting on each set of devices, but in reality, everything weighed more than four to eight times over what was on the documents submitted to LCSD.
According to Chung, it would take about a year to set up for a concert. He suspected someone was taking shortcuts to get sooner approval for MIRROR’s concerts. “Had the contractors declared the actual weights, the entire stage ceiling support and set up would have to be rebuilt. So there is a motive for false reporting to LCSD.”
The superintendent mentioned that although both contractors have been in business for a long time and had set up many concerts, it would be impossible for the police to retrace the past and investigate any other potentially false reporting on equipment weights.
More Arrests Later Not Ruled Out
The Task Force Unit said the investigation is still ongoing and is a rare situation. Chung said the case involved many companies, people, witnesses, and evidence. As it required professional expertise, it took time to locate experts for examination and evidence collection.The police said they had interviewed about 70 people in the past few months and would not rule out more arrests later.
The Hong Kong government released a statement on the investigation report on the MIRROR Concert Incident at Hong Kong Coliseum.
It detailed the causes of the incidents, including wire ropes snapping due to metal fatigue, issues with the eyebolt installation design, and the falsely reported weights, which were far from reaching international safety standards.
The government said LCSD would be discussing with the performing industry in the following few months before new reinforcement measures.
**This is a developing story.
