A scandal over counterfeit bricks in an MTR Corporation project in Hong Kong has deepened, with the maker of the genuine product saying the registered address of the Beijing firm allegedly behind the fakes is “more like a deserted yard” with no office or staff.
UBlok Advanced Materials revealed details of a probe it had carried out as Hong Kong police said on Thursday that they were investigating a suspected fraud case, a day after the MTR Corp filed a report about the alleged use of counterfeit bricks at its Tung Chung East station project.
The scandal came to light after a media report alleged that the project’s contract required the use of German-engineered “YTong” bricks. The subcontractor reportedly procured a similarly named product – “Beijing YiTong” – believed to have been made in mainland China.
The fakes were used in non-structural walls, which have since been ordered to be demolished.
UBlok, the exclusive licensed manufacturer of YTong products for the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, said its investigation into the companies behind the fake bricks included a site visit in June to Beijing Yitong Building Materials Company’s registered address.
It said there was no office building or staff at the site, which was “more like a deserted yard”.
A Post search on Amap also found the address to be a guest house, not a factory or office.
UBlok, a mainland company, also said it had made a complaint to the social media platform Douyin about the Beijing firm’s account infringing on its trademark and using its promotional videos.
It discovered other companies’ attempts to register trademarks related to the YTong brand in Hong Kong and Macau.
The manufacturer said it had filed a complaint on May 19 to the administration for market regulation in Beijing’s Daxing district against Beijing Yitong Building Materials for trademark infringement and unfair competition.
Beijing Yitong Building Materials published a declaration on February 21, saying five of its official company seals were void, a move that effectively suspended its ability to operate smoothly.
The company’s legal representative bears the same name as the sole director of a Hong Kong company incorporated in the city on the same day the declaration was published.
This Hong Kong company listed its address as being in the Henfa Commercial Building in Wan Chai, while its contact on its website was a mainland mobile number. When the Post visited the address on Thursday afternoon, no one answered the door.
The address appears to be a secretarial service providing a virtual office for hundreds of companies from the mainland, France, Taiwan and the United States, but the Hong Kong firm was not among them.
According to official mainland records, the Beijing’s firm’s legal representative also adopted the same role for another mainland company in building materials development.
A mainland court in 2022 and 2023 ruled that this company had infringed upon the trademark of another firm with a similar name, according to records on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System cited by UBlok.
The MTR Corp said on Wednesday that it had filed a police report after it failed to resolve concerns about the authenticity of materials and documentation supplied by the subcontractor.
It said it received an email from Jetway Building Material Limited in early June that questioned whether the bricks supplied by a subcontractor were from an authorised manufacturer. Jetway is the sole agent for the bricks in Hong Kong.
The rail giant added that in its role as project owner, it had told the main contractor to conduct a thorough investigation.
UBlok marketing director Frank Ouyang told the Post on Thursday: “The MTR Corporation has reported the case to the police, and our company will actively cooperate with the police investigation.
“We believe the Hong Kong police will thoroughly investigate all the issues of concern.”
The Transport and Logistics Bureau said that it was highly concerned about the incident and had asked the MTR Corp to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation.
The bureau said it had also asked the firm to take appropriate measures to supervise the contractor to strictly abide by the contract provisions to ensure the quality of the project.
The company owned the Tung Chung project, and was responsible for its financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance, it added.
-- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
