Lamma ferry trial judge: jury to rule on evidence, not sympathy for victims
Jurors told sympathy for the 39 passengers who died in Lamma tragedy must not affect their verdicts in skippers' manslaughter trial
Sympathy for the 39 victims of the 2012 Lamma ferry disaster should have no influence on the jury’s decision when it decides whether to convict two skippers accused of manslaughter, the judge said on Monday.
Giving his direction to the nine-member jury, deputy High Court judge Mr Justice Brian Keith said that they should base their ruling on evidence heard in court, but not sympathy towards the “terrible loss of lives” and “tragedy to the families”.
Keith also explained to them the legal principles involved in the 39 counts of manslaughter and two counts of endangering the safety of others at sea – which Hongkong Electric's Lamma IV coxswain Chow Chi-wai, 58, and Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry's Sea Smooth skipper Lai Sai-ming, 56, had each earlier pleaded not guilty to.
“You are required to return separate verdicts on each of the 39 counts of manslaughter,” Keith told the jury. “If you think they are guilty, there is no basis for convicting them on some charges, but acquitting them on others.”
He said that the captains could be convicted of the manslaughter charges only if the jury found that they owed a duty of care to their passengers, and that their failure to keep a proper lookout and take collision avoidance action contributed to the substantial loss of 39 lives.
He also explained that the two endangering the safety of others at sea charges that the two skippers each faced were alternative to each other, and the jury could only convict them of one count. The four charges accuse Chow and Lai of contravening international collision regulations.