Missing life vests strike sad final note
Last submissions after 50 days dwell on the children's life jackets that never were and the watertight door that never was
The commission of inquiry into the Lamma ferry tragedy is set to decide whether Marine Department officers made false statements about children's life vests on the sunken Lamma IV after it finished hearing evidence yesterday.
It is now up to the two commissioners to work out what happened the night of October 1 when two ferries collided near Lamma Island, claiming the lives of 31 adults and eight children.
In his final submissions, Johnny Mok Shiu-luen SC, the department's lawyer, admitted "inadequacy" over officers' failure to fully enforce a 2008 law that required a life jacket for everyone on board plus an extra 5 per cent designed specifically for children.
Mok said the unofficial practice addressed operators' difficulties in finding the money for extra life jackets during a financial crisis. "Obviously, in hindsight, that was not the right thing to do," he added.
Obviously, in hindsight, that was not the right thing to do
There were two certificates of survey from Marine Department officers which said Lamma IV was complying with the law. But lawyers for Hongkong Electric, owner of the vessel, have admitted there was not one children's life jackets on board. Mr Justice Michael Lunn, chairman of the commission, who has been hearing the evidence alongside former audit director Benjamin Tang Kwok-bun, said they would need to consult legal precedents as to whether a false statement was made. Mok argued more evidence was needed to prove such a serious allegation.
