Officials Charged Over Lamma IV Collision
Two officials have appeared in Hong Kong’s Eastern Court this week charged with misconduct in relation to the 2012 Lamma IV disaster that claimed 39 lives.
Marine Department assistant director, So Ping-chi, 58, is being charged with misconduct and retired senior inspector Wong Kam-ching, 60, is being charged with perjury.
So is accused of instructing his subordinates not to enforce the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Regulations in relation to lifejackets, reports the South China Morning Post. Wong allegedly made a false statement at the Commission of Inquiry by claiming that Lamma IV contained children’s lifejackets when inspected on May 8, 2012.
The collision took place on October 1, 2012. Hong Kong Electric’s Lamma IV collided with Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry’s Sea Smooth. 39 passengers on board the Lamma IV, including eight children, died.
The men have been granted bail, and their cases adjourned until April 15.
Lai Sai-ming, master of the ferry Sea Smooth, has already been sentenced to eight years’ prison. Lai, 56, was found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of endangering the lives of others at sea.
Chow Chi-wai, 58 and master of the ferry Lamma IV was acquitted of manslaughter charges but sentenced to nine months prison for endangering the lives of others at sea.
Hong Kong was in the midst of celebrating China’s National Day at the time of the accident, resulting in the area’s already bustling waters being unusually overcrowded.
Lamma IV was carrying company employees and their families to watch a fireworks display when it was struck by the passenger ferry traveling from Hong Kong Island to Lamma Island.
The collision resulted in more than 100 people being flung into the water. Lamma IV began to sink almost immediately, and low visibility and obstacles on board made work difficult for rescuers.
Both Chow and Lai have reportedly been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The accident was the deadliest maritime accident in Hong Kong since 1971, when a Hong Kong-Macau ferry sank during a typhoon, leaving 88 people dead.