A ferry captain involved in one of Hong Kong’s worst and most deadly accidents was acquitted today of manslaughter. Captain Chow was, however, convicted of endangering the safety of others at sea.
At the same trial, the captain of another ship involved in the fatal collision was convicted on the same charges.
Kowloon Ferry’s Sea Smooth coxswain Lai Sai-ming, who was in the other ship that collided with the Lamma IV in 2012, was convicted of all 39 counts of manslaughter, and convicted of endangering the safety of others at sea, in a unanimous decision by the nine-member jury.
During the trial, Chow and Lai pointed the finger at each other for causing the collision on National Day 2012 that claimed 39 lives, including eight children. The two captains had each pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution team, led by Andrew Bruce SC, accused the two mariners of being “grossly negligent” in their navigation that contributed to the deaths.
The heavy death toll could be due to loose chairs that fell when the passenger launch tilted upwards, and the difficulty to access lifejackets.