{
  "id": 6829667,
  "title": "Senior official asked to resign over defective lifts at Queen Mary Hospital",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/senior-official-asked-to-resign-over-defective-lifts-at-queen-mary-6829667",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-12T00:30:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3367266/senior-official-asked-resign-over-defective-lifts-queen-mary-hospital"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A high-ranking Hong Kong government official overseeing the faulty lift installation at Queen Mary Hospital's new block has been asked to resign. Li Pak-yee, a chief project manager at the Architectural Services Department, left her D1 post in August to address the defects and delays on other projects. Li's departure followed mounting media scrutiny and came before the hospital launch, leaving 24 out of 28 lifts unusable. The delays have pushed the hospital's full commissioning back by up to a year, causing concern over project management and civil service accountability. The ASD has directed the main contractor and lift subcontractor to cover all remedial costs, but the Health Bureau declined to comment on technical details. Li's actions have been criticized for bypassing the established disciplinary mechanism and lacking transparency.",
  "summary": "A senior Hong Kong government official who oversaw faulty lift installation work that stalled the launch of a new block at Queen Mary Hospital was asked to resign and left her post last month to take responsibility for the defects and delays on other projects, the South China Morning Post has learned. But experts criticised the authorities’ handling of civil service management missteps, which…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post - Hong Kong",
        "title": "Senior official asked to resign over defective lifts at Queen Mary Hospital",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/senior-official-asked-to-resign-over-defective-lifts-at-queen-mary",
        "published": "2026-09-12T00:30:06.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}