When 17 died in a karaoke bar fire started by Triads seeking revenge
- About 100 people were inside Top One karaoke bar in Tsim Sha Tsui when it was firebombed in 1997
- The investigation revealed that the attack was planned and motivated by revenge
“15 die as fire rips through karaoke bar,” ran a South China Morning Post headline on January 26, 1997. “An arsonist believed to be linked to a triad turf war firebombed a karaoke bar in Tsim Sha Tsui yesterday, killing 15 people,” the story continued.
“The inferno which exploded in a staircase leading to the Top One karaoke bar at 4am, was apparently designed to trap about 100 people inside […] Flames and smoke roared quickly up the stairs and through air-conditioning vents into the maze of tiny rooms, quickly overcoming staff and customers.”
Witnesses described seeing a brawl “between two gangs” outside the bar before the fire started.
“The dead were found lying along corridors and in the small cubicles rented by customers who were celebrating birthdays and the end of the working week,” reported the Post. The death toll rose to 17 in the days that followed.
After walkie-talkies and a police radio scanner were found “buried in mud at a disused school in Tseung Kwan O”, Organised Crime and Triad Bureau officers determined the attack was more planned than first thought. Superintendent Steve Tarrant told the Post, “This is not related to a triad turf war, it is a case of revenge over an earlier trivial incident.”
The trial of four men accused of murdering the 17 victims began on May 19, 1998. The jury heard testimonies from Sun Yee On triad members and accomplices, who were offered immunity in exchange for testifying.
The court was told how “a group of Sun Yee On members began fighting among themselves when one accused another of touching a girl’s breast […] Top One bouncers stepped in and beat up the customers when their links to a rival triad were revealed […] A group of Sun Yee On ‘brothers’ were ordered to take revenge”.
“Three mass murderers were jailed for life yesterday after a jury convicted them over their role in the Top One karaoke firebombing,” reported the Post on July 4. The fourth was convicted of manslaughter.
“It’s tragic that people should be killed over such a minor incident,” said Tarrant.
