The chairman of the MTR Corporation has said that the company and its employees will donate at least HK$2 million to the families of the 19 passengers injured in an arson attack last Friday.
Frederick Ma Si-hang told reporters on Monday that the MTR will also establish an eight-member committee to investigate the incident. The committee is expected to deliver preliminary findings within a month.
Visiting Tsim Sha Tsui station, where passengers disembarked following the attack, Ma said that the company will launch the donation campaign alongside the charity Tung Wah Group of Hospitals.
“This is the least we can do,” he said, fighting back tears.
“The MTR Corporation was also a victim in this incident,” he added. “But what is most important now is that our friends who are still injured can make a quick recovery.”
Ma said that the MTR investigative committee will be led by operations director Adi Lau and another engineering director. It will seek advice from local and overseas experts and prepare a detailed report on the incident.
Taiwanese tourist in critical condition
The arson attack took place during rush hour on Friday evening, on board a packed train that immediately made its way to Tsim Sha Tsui station. 19 people were injured.
Headline Daily reported on Tuesday that eight people remained in hospital. Two were still in critical condition – the suspect and a Taiwanese tourist.
Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man told the media on Monday that the tourist was being treated in the intensive care unit at Jordan’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office – Taiwan’s representative in Hong Kong – said that the Hong Kong Social Welfare Department agreed to waive the tourist’s medical fees.
It said that the department contacted two local charity funds which were willing to provide economic assistance to her family.
Hearing postponed to Friday
The arson charge against 60-year-old Cheung Kam-fai was mentioned at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning.
The court adjourned the case to Friday, awaiting the defendant’s discharge from hospital.
