ENGINEER IN 2017 HONG KONG ESCALATOR MISHAP ADMITS FAILURES

The registered escalator engineer who inspected a 45-m-long escalator in a Hong Kong shopping mall involved in an accident in March 2017 in which 18 people were injured admitted in court he failed to check five of the unit’s components, Yahoo News reports. The 66-year-old engineer had issued a safety certificate for the escalator three months before the incident. Despite admitting to failing to check two sensors that stop the unit if it reverses direction or goes too fast and three switches that stop it if an object becomes stuck in the machinery, the engineer said he checked the components that resulted in the reversal that sent passengers tumbling — the main drive and drive chain device. Examining security footage, prosecutors said the engineer was not thorough in his inspection, and a colleague observed that “22 minutes is not long enough.” On November 7, the trial was still underway.