Is there no limit to the political opportunism that can be extracted from tragedy? Lamentably, the answer is 'no'. The Hong Kong community is still reeling from the fatal bungling of the hostage crisis in Manila but, out there in the lower depths of political pond life, some people are determined to turn tragedy to their advantage.
First up, and this comes as no surprise, was the Liberal Party which thought it could muscle in on the act by turning up outside the Philippines consulate to protest and shout at a bewildered consular official.
The rancid scent of opportunism soon reached the nostrils of other parties, notably the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and the Democratic Party, which also made their way over to the consulate and started muttering about how the Philippines has to pay for this tragedy. The League of Social Democrats' Wong Yuk-man went one step further with a grandstanding trip to Manila.
Legislators are now floundering around demanding an apology from the Philippines and insisting that Hong Kong plays a role in the investigations into this debacle. Lamentably, any investigation will tell us little that we do not already know about what went wrong and, as for apologies, they have been issued.
In many ways it is difficult for politicians to deal with tragedy: getting the tone right can be hard, overreacting is always a temptation and accusations of opportunism, such as that being made here, are likely.
No party or politician aspiring to a leadership role can remain silent. But there is a vast difference between a dignified response which echoes the community's feelings and one that is driven by a desire to place political leaders at the heart of an event when they should clearly be on the sidelines.