5 arrested at dawn over freak accident at Hong Kong boy band Mirror concert
Police have arrested five people in relation to a freak accident at a concert by Hong Kong boy band Mirror, local media have reported citing sources. Two dancers were injured in July when a giant screen fell onto the stage. Those arrested included workers for the main contractor and subcontracted production companies.
Four men and one woman were reportedly taken away from their homes by police in the early hours on Friday. They were apprehended on suspicion of fraud and allowing objects to fall. HKFP has contacted the police for comment.
The five reportedly included the executive producer, project manager and stage engineer of main contractor Engineering Impact Limited and subcontractor Hip Hing Loong Stage Engineering Company Limited.
On Thursday, local media cited sources saying that the task force had completed the investigation and would hold a press conference on Friday to announce its report. The arrests occurred hours later.
The incident, considered one of the most serious accidents in Hong Kong’s performing arts industry, sparked debate regarding the labour rights of dancers, including fears that they were considered self-employed and would not be covered by the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance. The Labour Department earlier said it would help the dancers to figure out their employment status.
Clarification 17:30:An earlier version of this article stated that the screen that fell weighed around 500 kilograms, based on comments made in August by a member of the government task force that investigated the incident. That understated the weight of the screen quite significantly. Its correct weight was 9,852 pounds or 4,469 kilograms, the police confirmed.