Receipts attached 6 sources
Sources
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Other source
EMSD lift door-frame inspection tally
338 of 383 buildings; 45 compliant; repairs, other contractors and police investigation
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Other source
EMSD statement on two estates
Original 48 lifts, compliance, operational-safety position and repair plan
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Other source
RTHK report on arrests
Three reported arrests; allegations under investigation
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Other source
RTHK building-safety expert interviews
Independent expert explanation of fire-resistant doorset function
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Other source
Housing body abstained in two Taizoom lift projects
Housing Authority reply on abstentions, Fu Heng vote and criteria
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Other source
Housing Authority statement on Taizoom
No Fu Heng award yet; suspension advice; safety limited to original lifts
Limits
The Fu Heng appointment vote is the Housing Authority’s account to RTHK; meeting records and vote totals have not been independently reviewed. Its October 16 statement says the contract was not yet awarded. The operational-safety statement addresses the original 48 lifts only, not all later findings.
Corrections
No correction notes have been added for this article.
EMSD says 338 buildings with Taizoom-installed lifts are missing fire-resistant door-frame components. That is 88 percent of the 383 buildings it checked.
Hong Kong inspectors found missing fire-resistant lift door-frame components in 338 of 383 buildings where Taizoom Elevator Company (HK) Limited installed lifts, according to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department’s inspection tally through Monday, October 19. The count rose from 152 on Sunday after another 186 buildings were identified on Monday.
The figures count buildings, not individual lifts or contracts. EMSD says it has finished inspecting buildings handled by Taizoom. It found the required components in 45 buildings. The 338 affected buildings are private properties, separate from the original finding involving 48 lifts at two Tenants Purchase Scheme estates.
What the missing frames mean
The investigation began at Tsui Ping (North) Estate in Kwun Tong and Pok Hong Estate in Sha Tin. Taizoom replaced nine lifts at the first estate and 39 at the second. EMSD said fire-resistance certificates covered the lift doorsets, including their frames, but the corresponding frame components were absent when inspectors checked work reported as complete.
EMSD said the 48 lifts at those two estates could still operate safely despite the non-compliance. That statement did not certify the fire resistance of the incomplete doorsets, and it should not be taken as an assessment of every lift in the newly identified buildings. A building-safety surveyor told RTHK that the door and frame work together to help prevent fire and smoke from entering a lift shaft.
How Taizoom was selected at three estates
The Housing Authority told RTHK that its representatives abstained from votes on the lift replacements at Pok Hong Estate in January 2024 and Tsui Ping (North) Estate in March 2025. At Fu Heng Estate in Tai Po, however, the authority said it voted in September 2026 in favour of appointing Taizoom. The authority said it considered the contractor’s experience, performance and compliance record, tender price and past EMSD ratings. Its public statements do not include the meeting minutes or vote totals.
The Fu Heng vote took place before EMSD announced the missing-door-frame findings on October 15. A vote in favour of an appointment is not the same as a completed contract award. In an October 16 statement, the Housing Authority said the Fu Heng contract had not yet been awarded and that it had advised the estate’s incorporated owners to suspend the award. The owners’ corporation controls that next step; the authority is an owner of unsold flats, not the contract-awarding body.
The earlier statement did not disclose how the authority voted at Fu Heng. That detail emerged in its response to RTHK. The estate’s complete voting record, the tender assessment and the contract terms would show more about why Taizoom was selected and what checks preceded the decision.
Repairs and investigation
EMSD says installation of the missing components has begun at the two original estates and five private buildings. It expects work at most other affected buildings to begin within days, barring special circumstances. The work will be supervised by the department and paid for by the contractor. EMSD says it will conduct spot checks after installation.
The department is continuing checks of work by other registered contractors. Its published tally shows no missing frames in the 38 buildings checked so far, but those checks are not complete. Other contractors must submit their own inspection reports, which EMSD says it will review and sample-check.
Police are investigating the Taizoom case, and EMSD says it will pursue regulatory action under the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance. RTHK reported that three people connected to the company were arrested. An arrest and an investigation are not findings of guilt.
For residents, EMSD says property managers and owners’ corporations of affected buildings have been or will be notified. Its online tally gives totals, not an address-by-address list. Residents seeking their building’s status should ask their management office or owners’ corporation.