Hong Kong Finds Missing Lift Door Frame Components in 338 Buildings Linked to Taizoom

338 of 376 buildings fail checks on required lift components

Hong Kong's Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has found replacement lifts missing required door frame components in 338 of the 376 buildings inspected in an investigation into Taizoom Elevator Company (HK) Limited. The findings mean almost nine in every 10 buildings checked in the operation had incomplete installations.

The department's update at 2pm on October 19, 2026, added 186 buildings to the previous tally of 152. Installation work had begun at two Tenants Purchase Scheme estates and five private buildings, with Taizoom required to pay for the remedial work under government supervision.

The investigation began after inspectors discovered missing components on 48 replacement lifts at Tsui Ping (North) Estate in Kwun Tong and Pok Hong Estate in Sha Tin. Police subsequently arrested a company director and two registered lift engineers over suspected deception and fraud involving safety certification. They were later released on bail.

EMSD says the affected lifts can still operate safely. The missing parts nevertheless breach installation requirements for doors designed to resist fire. Residents now face temporary lift suspensions while the components are fitted, alongside a wider review of how contractors' work is certified and checked.

The department has completed its inspections of buildings handled by Taizoom and is continuing checks on other registered lift contractors. No similar omissions had been found in those inspections at the time of the latest update.

What inspectors found at the first two estates

EMSD's October 16 statement identified nine affected lifts at Tsui Ping (North), where replacement work was completed between February and July 2026, and 39 at Pok Hong, where replacements were completed between May 2025 and July 2026.

Inspectors found that fire resisting doors had been installed, but corresponding door frame components were missing. Certificates covering the fire resisting doorsets, including the frames, had been submitted and the work declared complete.

A doorset means the door and the associated parts needed for it to perform as designed. A certificate covering that complete assembly is therefore central to checking whether the installed equipment matches the approved design.

EMSD said the preliminary evidence pointed to suspected serious negligence or misconduct. It announced enforcement and regulatory action under the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance and a referral to police over possible fraud and false statements.

How the findings expanded in four days

The building count rose rapidly as inspectors moved beyond the two estates. An earlier update identified 78 affected buildings, followed by a tally of 152, before the final Taizoom inspection count reached 338.

The latest total represents about 89.9 percent of the 376 buildings inspected. The additional 186 buildings accounted for more than half of the final tally. They comprised 184 individual buildings and two buildings within two housing estates.

• October 16: EMSD announced missing components on 48 lifts at Tsui Ping (North) and Pok Hong and launched wider inspections of Taizoom installations.
• During the following inspections: The affected building count rose first to 78 and then to 152.
• October 19, by 2pm: Another 186 buildings brought the cumulative count to 338, with checks of all 376 Taizoom buildings completed.
• November 15: Registered contractors must submit declarations covering the specified review of earlier lift work.
• By the end of 2026: EMSD expects to complete its broader review of lift regulation and oversight.

EMSD's detailed building tally describes the 338 affected properties as private buildings, while its broader update gives 338 as the cumulative figure following the discoveries at the two Tenants Purchase Scheme estates. The initial figure of 48 counts lifts; the later figures count buildings, which can each contain several lifts.

Why the missing frames matter during a fire

Sze To Ka-shing, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers' Mechanical, Marine, Naval Architecture and Chemical Division, explained that the relevant materials and fixing components sit in spaces around the lift door assembly that passengers generally cannot inspect from the lobby or lift car.

The frame helps hold protective materials in the correct position. Sze To compared its fixing function to the seal around a refrigerator door: the seal must stay properly positioned for the door to close tightly and keep the space protected.

Repeated opening and closing can allow materials to move if they lack the required support, he said. During a building fire, gaps can then allow smoke and flames to spread through the lift door area, threatening people inside the lift, including firefighters carrying out rescue work.

Sze To said the omission does not create an immediate mechanical operating danger, but presents a fire safety risk over time. EMSD's assessment that the lifts can continue operating sits alongside its requirement that the missing components be installed promptly.

Who pays, and how long will lifts stop?

Taizoom must bear all costs associated with the remedial measures. EMSD has notified property management companies or incorporated owners, the bodies through which building owners manage common property, and will supervise the installation work.

Work had started at the two original estates and five private buildings by the latest update. The department had also mobilised the lift industry association and other contractors to help, saying installation at the remaining affected buildings could begin within several days except in special circumstances.

For the original two estates, EMSD estimated that each lift would need to stop operating for around one to two days while new frame components were fitted. It expected the programme at those estates to finish within a month and said work would be scheduled outside busy periods as far as possible.

That timetable makes coordination with building managers particularly relevant for older residents, wheelchair users and anyone who depends on a lift to leave home. EMSD also required lift lobbies and passages to remain unobstructed and appropriate fire safety measures to be maintained during the work. The department will conduct spot checks after installation.

A review of earlier work across the industry

Registered lift contractors and registered lift engineers have been instructed to examine earlier installations and provide signed declarations with supporting fire resistance documents. The submission deadline is November 15, 2026.

The specified review covers lifts for which Form LE7 was submitted and work involved replacing or adding landing doors between October 17, 2017, and October 16, 2026. Landing doors are the doors passengers pass through from a building floor into the lift.

Contractors must check whether the door structure and frame components meet design and fire resistance requirements. They must also review the lifts they currently maintain to ensure that landing doors and associated frames are structurally sound and operating safely.

The declarations must include identifying information such as lift permit numbers, the issuing bodies and copies of fire resistance certification. EMSD has warned that knowingly making a false declaration or supplying false information is unlawful. Officials will review the submissions and carry out sample inspections.

Sze To supported beginning with a defined period rather than attempting to check every historical installation within one month. He said unusually high failure rates could justify extending the review to work carried out over the previous 15 or 20 years. He also suggested combining checks with routine monthly maintenance, during which inspection could require a suspension of about one to two hours.

Can declarations catch what earlier checks missed?

Lift works require an EMSD permit before the equipment can be used. The discovery of missing parts after certificates were submitted has focused attention on what engineers inspect, what their reports record and how the department verifies those reports.

Yiu Kit-ning, a surveyor and member of EMSD's Lift and Escalator Safety Advisory Committee, said the repeated findings exposed gaps in application forms and the process for accepting completed work. She supported a wider tightening of supervision.

Legislator Chong Ho-fung of Roundtable called for stronger government inspections, checks by independent parties and a higher sampling rate, questioning the reliance on contractors examining their own work.

Ho Wing-yip, an electrical engineer and adjunct professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, argued that examining every installation directly through government inspectors could take a year. He viewed contractor declarations followed by government verification as a practical compromise.

Ho also estimated that the missing components represented about 10 percent of the cost of a fire resisting door system. He suggested that omitting them repeatedly could produce substantial savings for a contractor, presenting cost cutting as a possible explanation for the pattern.

Engineers' reports and qualifications face scrutiny

Ho said examination reports should explicitly cover fire doors and smoke seals. He also called for tighter requirements when registered lift engineers renew their status every five years.

Legislator Scott Leung Man-kwong said EMSD needed more inspection resources and should reconsider how heavily it depends on reports signed by registered engineers. He linked the problem to heavy workloads in an industry short of qualified personnel.

Leung explained his concern about relying on a single channel of information when deciding whether work meets the required standard.

"As to how to avoid determining whether a check passes standards by relying on one information source, I believe the EMSD would need to deploy more manpower on these checks after this incident," Leung said.

Leung supported verification by an independent party, while acknowledging that finding people with the necessary specialist knowledge would be difficult. His proposal would add another check between a contractor's completion claim and the decision that the work meets requirements.

EMSD has instructed engineers conducting examinations before lifts enter service, after major alterations, and during periodic and load testing to examine landing doors and associated frame components thoroughly. They must check for missing parts and verify the fire resistance certificates again.

Housing Authority pauses support for another contract

The investigation has also affected decisions about future lift replacement contracts. The Housing Authority said it had advised the incorporated owners at Fu Heng Estate in Tai Po to postpone awarding a contract to Taizoom.

The authority had voted for Taizoom at an owners' meeting in September 2026. It said its decision took account of an independent engineering consultant's tender assessment arranged through the Urban Renewal Authority.

The assessment considered the bidder's relevant experience, performance ratings, compliance record, price and EMSD contractor performance rating. The Housing Authority said it changed its advice after EMSD disclosed serious failures in Taizoom's replacement work.

At Pok Hong and Tsui Ping (North), the authority had abstained from votes on replacement works at owners' meetings in January 2024 and March 2025 respectively.

Leung, who also serves on the Housing Authority, proposed closer communication among the authority, EMSD, the Buildings Department, the Housing Department and the Urban Renewal Authority. He said earlier access to information about contractors under investigation could help the authority make better decisions when exercising its voting rights as a property owner.

Police inquiry and regulatory review continue

Police arrested a 79-year-old Taizoom director and two registered lift engineers on suspicion of deception and fraud over certificates allegedly stating that work had been completed. All three were subsequently released on bail. Their guilt remains a matter for the legal process.

EMSD's regulatory review extends beyond the immediate repairs. It covers new installations, lift modernisation, inspection and maintenance, supervision at work sites, and the registration, regulation and approval systems under the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance.

The department expects to finish that review within 2026 and has promised immediate action if it identifies problems with engineering quality or supervision. Meanwhile, November 15 is the next major deadline for the wider industry's declarations, followed by EMSD's verification and sample checks.

For residents, the immediate changes are more concrete: building managers must coordinate access and lift suspensions, contractors must fit the missing components at their own expense, and inspectors must check that completed installations match the certified design.

Key Points

• EMSD found missing lift door frame components in 338 of 376 buildings inspected in its Taizoom operation, almost 90 percent.
• The investigation began with 48 replacement lifts at Tsui Ping (North) and Pok Hong estates.
• EMSD says the lifts can continue operating safely, while requiring prompt correction of the fire safety noncompliance.
• Taizoom must pay for remedial work. Installation had begun at the two estates and five private buildings.
• Other contractors must submit declarations and supporting documents by November 15, 2026, with government sample checks to follow.
• A company director and two lift engineers were arrested and released on bail. EMSD's broader regulatory review is due to finish within 2026.