Lamma trip that shattered mum's life

Chan Chor-jun celebrated the wedding of her younger daughter in September but was mourning her two weeks later when the Lamma IV went down in the National Day collision.

Her daughter, Mani Lau Man-lai, was among the 39 people who died in the collision. Neither did Mani's husband, Pales Lam Ka-man, survive.

Chan initially went through a month of sorrow that felt so heavy she was unable to cook. Then she was forced to deal with her worsening heart disease, and the long legal battle over compensation for Mani's death. She is facing an uncertain future because her soy milk shop in Kwun Tong will be forced to close in a few years due to urban renewal.

"I do not feel well now," Chan said. "When I return home [from work], I am still very sad. Sometimes before I sleep at night, I cry. My husband tells me just to forget. But I could never forget, not even when I die. We used to be a happy family."

The 59-year-old mother was able to raise her two daughters on the little money she earned from selling her home-made soy milk in Yue Man Fong. Eventually the two girls went overseas to study at colleges in Britain and Australia.

Chan recalled that Lau, 26, an administrative assistant, was a gentle, filial daughter who loved to travel. She met her husband, Pales Lam Ka-man, 30 - a Hongkong Electric technician whom Chan recalls as cheerful and helpful - when they studied at the Institute of Vocational Education.