UpdateFamilies of Lamma ferry disaster victims protest skippers' 'lenient' sentences
Families slam 'lenient' sentences as Lamma IV captain gets nine months
One of the two skippers held responsible for the Lamma ferry tragedy was sentenced by a High Court judge to eight years in jail yesterday and the other to nine months.
But even as Mr Justice Brian Keith acknowledged the "unimaginable grief" of the bereaved families, several of them protested at what they felt were lenient sentences for the two found guilty over their roles in the 2012 collision that claimed 39 lives.
Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry's Sea Smooth coxswain Lai Sai-ming was jailed for eight years for manslaughter and endangering the safety of others at sea, while Hongkong Electric's Lamma IV captain Chow Chi-wai got nine months for endangering others at sea.
On hearing the news, photographer Ryan Tsui Chi-shing, who lost his elder brother Tsui Chi-wai and niece Tsui Hoi-ying, 10, in the collision, said that the jail terms were "too lenient".
"[Lai] should at least be jailed for each of the 39 lives lost," he said, asking the Department of Justice to launch an appeal.
Irene Cheng, whose son Thomas Koo Man-cheung died in the October 1 disaster, said Chow's sentence in particular showed too much mercy.