Hong Kong mechanic whose repairs resulted in deadly garage explosion in Wong Tai Sin says he was only following employer’s instructions

Lawyers for a mechanic facing jail after his repairs resulted in a garage explosion that claimed three lives told a Hong Kong court on Tuesday that he was only following his employer’s instructions.

But Madam Justice Judianna Barnes observed that Lai Chun-ho, 39, knew he was not qualified in repairing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks when his handling of a taxi resulted in an explosion at a garage on Wan Fung Street in Wong Tai Sin on April 26, 2015.

“Evidence shows that there had been similar repairs before that … and he became increasingly bold when nothing happened,” the judge said. “He was lulled into a false sense of security.”

Their exchange came after Lai was convicted of three counts of manslaughter, punishable by life imprisonment, by a jury of four men and three women, following seven hours of deliberations on Friday.

Lai was found guilty of unlawfully killing his employer Wu Hon-wai, 47, taxi driver Chan Kam-por, 61, and neighbour Ng Oi-ha, 65, by gross negligence through breaching a duty of care he owed to the deceased, in failing to ensure there would be no leakage or accumulation of LPG, and to prevent its ignition.

He will be sentenced on August 17.

The High Court heard Lai was not a competent person qualified to maintain, repair and replace LPG vehicle fuel systems or associated components in Hong Kong, and the garage in question was not a government-approved workshop for such works.

While there was no direct evidence showing what happened in the garage before it was engulfed in flames, prosecutors argued that Lai had deliberately meddled with the taxi’s fuel tank and released 48 litres of LPG into the garage in his attempt to replace its fuel pump.