Advertisement
Advertisement
Lamma ferry crash
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
The Lamma IV ferry, pictured after the collision in 2012. Photo: David Wong

Marine Department officials in court over Lamma ferry disaster that killed 39 passengers

A senior Marine Department official and a retired ship inspector appeared in Eastern Court on Wednesday in relation to the 2012 Lamma ferry collision that claimed 39 lives.

Thomas Chan

A senior Marine Department official and a retired ship inspector appeared in Eastern Court yesterday in relation to the 2012 Lamma ferry collision that claimed 39 lives.

The department's assistant director, So Ping-chi, 58, is charged with one count of misconduct in public office while retired senior inspector Wong Kam-ching, 60, faces one count of perjury. Neither man entered a plea and the prosecution said that both cases would be tried at the District Court in Wan Chai.

So is accused of wilful misconduct because he allegedly instructed his subordinates not to enforce the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Regulations on lifejackets. He also later failed to rescind the order, prosecutors claim.

Meanwhile, Wong allegedly made a false statement at the commission of inquiry into the disaster by claiming that the ill-fated Lamma IV vessel contained children's lifejackets. Prosecutors claim that during an inspection of the boat on May 8, 2012 Wong did not in fact see any lifejackets.

The collision, one of the city's worst ever maritime accidents, took place on October 1, 2012, when Hongkong Electric's Lamma IV collided with Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry's Sea Smooth. Some 39 passengers on board the Lamma IV, including eight children, died.

Granting the pair HK$10,000 cash bail each, Principal Magistrate Bina Chainrai reminded them "not to discuss the present proceedings directly or indirectly with any officers of the Marine Department".

Chainrai also ordered the men to surrender all travel documents and not to leave Hong Kong.

Both cases were adjourned to April 15. Prosecutor Vincent Siu said that the prosecution needed time to prepare relevant documents for transferring the case to the District Court.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Marine officials appear before court
Post