Wong Kam-ching stands by claim that he saw an adequate number of children’s life vests aboard Lamma ferry that crashed in 2012 and killed 39
ELIZABETH.CHEUNG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 06 January, 2016, 3:29pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 06 January, 2016, 3:45pm
Retired senior inspector Wong Kam-ching outside District Court on Wednesday. Photo: Nora Tam
A retired senior ship inspector responsible for checking life jackets aboard the Lamma IV, which sank in a fatal 2012 crash, pleaded not guilty to the accusation that he falsely claimed to have seen children’s life vests aboard the ship.
Wong Kam-ching, who retired from the Marine Department, appeared in District Court in Wan Chai before district judge Timothy Harry Casewell on Wednesday.
The trial was to centre on a charge of perjury accusing Wong of delivering a false statement on February 18, 2013, when giving evidence to the Commission of Inquiry into the ferry accident. The accident took place on October 1, 2012, claiming 39 lives and injuring 92 people.
Wong stated that, five months before the crash, he had seen and counted on the Lamma IV ferry 232 adult life vests and 12 children’s life vests – the latter comprising five per cent of the total number of life vests as required by local regulations.
Hong Kong Electric, which owned the ferry, stated there were no children’s life vests on board during the commission’s inspection.
In the prosecution’s opening remarks, counsel Andrew Bruce said that while Wong was reminded of the evidence given by the ferry owner during the inspection, he confirmed his testimony and insisted that he had seen and counted the life jackets.
Bruce added that the issue of children’s life vests was a matter of maritime safety. He quoted a line from the commission’s report that the absence of children’s life vests played a “contributing part in the loss of life among passengers”.
The number of children on board the ill-fated Lamma IV exceeded the number of life vests that were required. According to the report, 32 children were on board at the time of the crash, of whom eight perished.
Wednesday’s inquiry was suspended after commencing for around 30 minutes, as counsel for the defendant required time to study an internal investigation report by the Transport and Housing Bureau offered by the prosecutor. The investigation, which was completed in 2014, looked into possible misconduct on the part of the Marine Department relating to the accident.
No witnesses were called on Wednesday, and the trial was expected to take around 12 days to complete. Tang Wan-on, Hong Kong Electric’s marine manager, and Leung Tai-yau, a retired seaman formerly with the electricity company, were to be called as witnesses by the prosecutor.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1898356/inspector-ill-fated-hong-kong-ferry-pleads-not-guilty
