Hong Kong official ‘deceived’ in Lamma ferry disaster probe, court hears
Marine Department assistant director So Ping-chi is charged with one count of misconduct in public office, following the 2013 disaster
A senior official linked to the 2012 Lamma ferry collision that cost 39 lives was “deceived” into giving answers in an internal probe, the District Court heard on Friday.
Marine Department assistant director So Ping-chi, who is charged with one count of misconduct in public office, was asked after the disaster to fill in a questionnaire and attend an interview conducted by the Transport and Housing Bureau, the supervising authority overseeing the city’s transportation and housing sectors.
So, who was a principal surveyor of ships from April 2007 to March 2013, revealed in the questionnaire and the interview that he issued his ship inspection team a “temporary suspension instruction” relating to the provision of life jackets on passenger vessels, which was intended to give the shipping industry a grace period to adjust to a regulatory change.
Barrister Daniel Marash SC, for So, told the court on Friday that the official was “deceived” into making his submissions by the bureau.
The lawyer argued that So gave his answers “involuntarily”, claiming the official was not cautioned beforehand that the information he provided might be used against him in a criminal investigation.
The bureau avoided directly saying how So’s submissions would be handled, and the official was led to believe that there would be no criminal proceedings against him, said Marash.
But Andrew Bruce SC, for the prosecution, questioned whether So, being a senior department official, would be completely unaware of the nature of this type of internal inquiry and the possibility of criminal prosecution against him.
So, who was present at the trial but did not testify on Friday, told the court earlier he would have remained silent if he had known he was a target of an investigation.
So gave the non-enforcement instruction relating to the provision of life jackets on board before the accident on October 1, 2012, when the Lamma IV was taking 124 passengers on a trip to view National Day fireworks in Victoria Harbour and collided with the Sea Smooth catamaran, which had 62 passengers on board. Eight children were among the 39 killed.
The trial continues before District Court Judge Douglas Yau Tak-hong on April 18.
