Sea Smooth skipper convicted of manslaughter as Lamma ferry captain cleared of same charges
Both found guilty of endangering lives at sea in tragedy that left 39 people dead
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 14 February, 2015, 3:04pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 15 February, 2015, 12:18am
Thomas Chan [email protected]
Sea Smooth captain Lai Sai-ming (left) and Lamma IV captain Chow Chi-wai (right). Photos: Edward Wong
A ferry captain involved in one of the city's worst sea tragedies was today acquitted of manslaughter, while the captain of another ship involved in the fatal collision was convicted on the same charges.
Hongkong Electric’s Lamma IV skipper Chow Chi-wai, coxswain of the ship that sank during the tragedy, was today acquitted of all 39 counts of manslaughter by a majority verdict of 8 to 1.
Chow was, however, convicted of endangering the safety of others at sea.
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 by a majority verdict of 7 to 2.
Lai was also found guilty of endangering the safety of others at sea, in a unanimous decision by the nine-member jury after the 60-day trial.
The jurors announced the decision after nearly 35 hours of deliberations.
The maximum penalty for manslaughter is life imprisonment. The endangering safety charge, meanwhile, comes with a fine of us much as HK$200,000 and a maximum prison term of four years.
During the hearings, 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 pair allegedly breached the duty of care to their passengers by failing to keep a proper lookout, or to take any effective collision avoidance measures
Chow’s legal team, however, tried to establish before the jury that his continuous efforts to avert the collision were cancelled out by the more manoeuvrable catamaran captained by Lai.
They asserted that the Lamma IV had turned right three times by about 50 degrees in accordance with the international collision regulations, while the Sea Smooth violated the rules and turned left by 21 degrees.
Lai’s legal team argued that a missing watertight door could be the cause of the Lamma IV’s rapid sinking.
The heavy death toll could be due to loose chairs that fell when the passenger launch tilted upwards, and the difficulty to access lifejackets.
The Lamma IV ferry after the accident. Photo: Sam Tsang
