Hong Kong’s coroner is expected to hold an inquest this year into the Lamma ferry tragedy, some 12 years after the sinking which claimed 39 lives. It comes after the city’s Appeal Court supported calls by bereaved relatives for the hearing.
The coroner’s court held a closed-door pre-inquest review on Thursday morning, local media reported. According to a court document, the court has received a preliminary report from police, which includes testimony from 329 people.
Police will submit a full report by June and the inquest is due to start by the end of 2024.
On Chinese National Day – October 1 – in 2012, the ferry Lamma IV collided with another ferry Sea Smooth off Lamma island, leaving 39 dead and 92 injured.
The Lamma IV, which had 126 passengers on board, had been chartered by the Hong Kong Electric Company to take staff to watch the National Day Fireworks Display in the harbour. The regular passenger ferry Sea Smooth had over 100 people on board.
A report by a Commission of Inquiry in April 2013 revealed that the Marine Department made repeated mistakes while approving charts and inspecting vessels, and put forward 13 recommendations for safety improvements.
In February 2015, the High Court found the captain of the Sea Smooth, Lai Sai-ming, guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter, while the captain of the Lamma IV, Chow Chi-wai, was found not guilty of manslaughter. Both were convicted of endangering the safety of others at sea. Lai was sentenced to eight years in prison, while Chow received a nine-month sentence.
Fighting for an inquest
Families of the victims have long fought for an inquest. But in 2020, the Coroner’s Court told them it would not hold one and the Department of Justice said it would not initiate further prosecutions.
Applicants Leung Shuk-ling, Chiu Ping-chuen and Tsui Chi-shing, whose relatives were among the 39 who died in the collision off Lamma Island, had argued that it was in the public interest to hold an inquest.
In July 2023 the Court of Appeal ordered that one be held.
“I’m thrilled,” Leung told reporters outside court in Cantonese. “This is the first time in years that I’ve been able to smile in front of a camera.”
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