Heartless treatment of Lamma ferry victims' families shames government
Albert Cheng says lack of an apology and the internal inquiry into Marine Department's failings show that officials are protecting their own
The release of a detailed report by an independent commission into last October's Lamma ferry disaster should have brought the saga to a close, but the handling of the aftermath by the government has been disappointing.
It has infuriated many, especially the families of the victims. They were particularly angered by the fact that Director of Marine Francis Liu Hon-por apparently knew nothing of the department's "systemic failings" which had contributed to the tragedy in which 39 people died when two vessels collided. And to add salt to the wounds, Liu didn't even make a public apology to the families. Their anger is understandable.
The families wrote to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, questioning the professionalism of some officers in the Marine Department and demanded that the government hold the department responsible. But, in return, all they got was a lukewarm bureaucratic response from the chief executive's private secretary, that sounded like a carbon copy of an earlier press release. Leung didn't bother to write to the families himself.
The letter followed the official line that the Marine Department attaches great importance to the views and recommendations of the commission of inquiry in its report, and will follow them up in a full and earnest manner, etc, etc. How callous. The government has disregarded the feelings of its people, preferring to protect its own kind at the expense of the public good.
Some have speculated that the government's refusal to apologise for the incident is to avoid opening the floodgates to damages claims. But the government is not an individual or a commercial entity. It would be understandable if the administration were to shoulder the blame if one of its departments had made mistakes. And it could certainly afford any payouts that were ordered, especially as it is willing to spend millions of dollars every year on public firework displays during festive times.
By refusing to own up to its mistakes and compensate families of the deceased, the administration looks callous and cruel. It is certainly not the people-focused, caring government that it perceives itself to be.
Furthermore, the ongoing internal investigation pledged by the government following the inquiry's report is nothing more than self-preservation, with its own people investigating its own people. How independent and reliable can such an inquiry be? One thing is for sure - we will never get to the bottom of things this way.