City Beat | Handling of Lamma report gives rise to suspicion
The government must now balance the interests of justice with those of the grieving families
Never let it be said that journalists aren't suspicious! When the government announces a press conference after 8.30pm - long after the main evening television news broadcasts, doubts and questions arise about the unusual arrangement.
Many couldn't help but speculate about the timing when the government released its internal investigation into the 2012 Lamma ferry tragedy, which claimed 39 lives. Conspiracy theories flew when it was announced that transport minister Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung would meet the media at such a late hour.
But what made people - especially the grieving relatives - even more suspicious was that only an executive summary of the report would be released. While the report identified misconduct by 17 marine officials up to directorate level, no names were revealed. The government's reason was simple: the findings had been handed over for criminal investigation; disclosing more would put justice at risk.
Government sources later explained that the press conference was held so late because Cheung needed to brief the relatives first, and some would only be available after office hours. This could be true, although the timing was not good for the media.
Both the relatives and the government had valid points on the question of whether to release the report. The disagreement touches on an important matter: the civil service disciplinary process.
According to the report, the Marine Department suffers from "systemic problems and deficiencies". In the private sector, the head of a malfunctioning department could expect to be fired and the whole department scrapped. But hiring and firing is not as simple for the government.
