Five arrested over popular Hong Kong boy band Mirror concert accident

HONG KONG, Nov 11, 2022 (AFP): Hong Kong police arrested five people on Friday over an accident at a concert by the city's most popular boy band Mirror that left a dancer at risk of permanent paralysis, according to local media and a police source.

The Mirror concert on July 28 was cut short after a large LED screen suspended above the stage fell onto a group of performers, hitting one in the neck and leaving him in critical condition.

Five people were arrested early on Friday on suspicion of fraud and a charge of allowing an object to fall from height, a police source told AFP.

Graphic footage of the accident that was captured by horrified fans shocked Hong Kong and prompted questions on whether safety standards were properly enforced, as well as wider discussions on workplace conditions in the entertainment industry.

A government task force set up to investigate the incident said in August that a substandard cable was used and that the screen's weight was under-reported -- though at the time it did not say who should be held responsible.

The five people arrested were working at main stage contractor Engineering Impact and subcontractor Hip Hing Loong Stage Engineering Company, local media reported.

Dancer Mo Li, who recently turned 28, suffered a severe spinal injury and was in critical condition for more than a month, with doctors saying chances of full recovery were slim.

A second dancer was less seriously injured.

Last month, concert organisers Music Nation and MakerVille defended their choice of production crew and rejected accusations of cutting corners.

"We chose to hire teams that are considered top-notch in the industry... Cost is not our primary consideration," they said in a statement.

Hong Kong generally has good safety standards but a spate of recent deadly workplace accidents have heightened concerns that not enough is being done to protect workers or punish employers when avoidable accidents occur.

In September, three men were killed and six others injured after a crane collapsed at a construction site.

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