Fatal garage blast in Hong Kong caused by mechanic unqualified for fuel tank repair, High Court jury told
- Lai Chun-ho, 37, is on trial accused of three counts of manslaughter over an explosion in 2015 that left three dead
- Prosecutors say he used unsafe methods contrary to manufacturers’ requirements for a task he was not properly trained for
A mechanic on trial for manslaughter over a garage blast that claimed three lives in Hong Kong five years ago has been accused of causing the explosion while repairing a taxi’s fuel tank despite being unqualified for the job.
Lai Chun-ho, 37, allegedly used unsafe methods contrary to the manufacturers’ requirements when he attempted to replace the pump of the vehicle’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank at a garage on Wan Fung Street in Wong Tai Sin on April 26, 2015.
His handling was said to have caused the leakage of 48 litres of LPG – filling the service pit “like a reservoir” – which experts believed was sparked when an operating electric fan fell to the ground and prompted the explosion that killed three people and injured eight others, including himself.
These details finally emerged in the High Court on Thursday as prosecutors opened their case against Lai, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter, punishable by life imprisonment, over the deaths of Wu Hon-wai, 47, Chan Kam-por, 61, and Ng Oi-ha, 65.
A jury of four men and three women has been empanelled to hear the 15-day trial before Madam Justice Judianna Barnes.