Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung said the bureau is investigating the fatal industrial accident that killed a worker in Cheung Sha Wan on Tuesday morning.

It is initially suspected that the operating system at the construction site had something to do with the accident.

Involved parties will be prosecuted after confirmation, Cheung said.

The accident which happened to Tang Siu-tong put his family in great sorrow.

A six-by-six feet concrete slab fell on the 34-year-old construction worker as it was being loaded onto a truck at the construction site. Tang was walking past at that time.

He was rushed to Princess Margaret Hospital unconscious.

Later his father Tang Kei collapsed at home when he learned of the news over the telephone.

The 74-year-old father was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and was declared dead at noon.

The construction worker was the family breadwinner. He had two daughters aged eight and nine, and lived with his parents in an Oi Man Estate flat in Ho Man Tin.

Representatives of the Social Welfare Department (SWD), Housing Department (HD), Home Affairs Department and some charity groups visited the family yesterday morning.

Cheung arrived in the evening. He expressed the deepest consolation to the family, saying the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB) will discuss with the HD to help solve the family's housing problem.

The construction worker's wife expressed her wish to receive long-term financial assistance, while Tang's eldest brother would like to have a bigger unit so as to take better care of his mother.

A SWD spokesperson said they would provide childcare, counseling and clinical psychologist services to the family.

Social workers from hospitals, schools and family services would also offer assistance.

"We will render continuous support to the family," the SWD spokesperson added.

Brenda Koo, center director of the Society for the Promotion of Hospice Care's Jessie & Thomas Tam Centre, said it is important to follow up the emotions of the family members.

"The elderly and children are emotionally fragile," she said. "We should watch closely their responses and offer appropriate assistance."

Emily Chan, social worker (foster care services) at Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, added the children in this case should be informed directly in a quiet environment and in a sensitive manner.

Children at their ages know something about death, she added. They should also be informed of what would happen during the funeral before it is held.

The construction site is owned by Henderson Land Development Company (HLD), which granted a death gratuity of HK$1 million to Tang's family.

Tang's brother was grateful to the company, saying the amount could relieve their financial burden temporarily.

"Yet the HK$1 million cannot buy back the two lives so the (our) feeling is not good," he added.

It has been the third fatal industrial accident caused during the lifting of objects at a construction site since the beginning of the year.

Cheung said the government would strengthen the promotion of industrial safety and inspection.

(HK Edition 04/24/2008 page1)