A bribery scandal involving a 10 per cent shortfall of steel rebar in a residential project under Hong Kong real estate giant CK Asset is the result of collective and wilful oversight at the construction site, independent engineers have warned.
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While describing the incident as rare, they agreed that the government should step up inspection efforts in the city’s construction sites.
The bribery scandal, revealed by the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Wednesday, focused on CK Asset’s Anderson Road project in Kwun Tong, which consists of six residential towers providing 2,926 flats, including about 1,000 that were designated under a “starter homes” pilot scheme for Hong Kong residents.
Site supervisors are alleged to have accepted offers, including red packets, mooncake vouchers and lavish meals, from a subcontractor asking for lenient oversight of subpar construction practices, which deviated from construction plans approved by the Buildings Department in a bid to maximise profits and save costs.
Investigations revealed that reinforcement bars in concrete in all six buildings were either thinner than required, missing, displaced or loosely arranged, failing to comply with approved building plans.
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The number of main reinforcement bars in structural components was, on average, 10 per cent below approved specifications. At some spots in towers 1 and 2, dislocations were as much as 530mm, the probe found.