Never forgotten: Chiu placing flowers for his late sister, who was killed in the ‘Lamma IV’ ferry sinking in October 2012, at the Pok Fu Lam cemetery in Hong Kong. — AFP
SURVIVORS of one of the city-state’s deadliest maritime disasters and victims’ families who spent 13 years in a legal and bureaucratic maze seeking answers will have to wait a little longer for a coroner’s ruling to shed light on the tragedy.
A ruling was due to be made on tomorrow, but the hearing was adjourned to “a date yet to be determined”.
In 2012, Philip Chiu and his family had boarded the Lamma IV ferry at the quiet pier of an outlying island, travelling towards the city’s Victoria Harbour for a close-up view of the fireworks.
It was Oct 1 – China’s national day. On board, Chiu spotted a large, bright object approaching, but by the time he recognised it as another vessel, it was too late.
The Lamma IV sank in less than two minutes, killing 31 adults and eight children. It became the city’s worst maritime disaster since 1971.
Chiu, his wife and two-year-old daughter were rescued that night, but his elder sister was unaccounted for.
“I had a very bad feeling ... It was completely dark outside and I couldn’t see anything. I wanted to jump in to save my sister,” Chiu recalled through tears.
Chiu’s sister was later found trapped near the bottom.
“My mother asked me, ‘Why didn’t you save your sister?’” he said. “I didn’t know how to answer her.”
Hong Kong courts jailed the two helmsmen involved, as well as two Marine Department employees who failed to ensure Lamma IV had lifejackets for children.
A separate government probe alleged misconduct by 17 Marine Department officers, but their names and the full report were not disclosed for privacy reasons.
Sales manager Alice Leung, who lost her 23-year-old brother that night, said she and other bereaved families took it upon themselves to seek “justice and the truth” after government efforts stalled.
“This incident is more complex than a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle,” Leung said. “Over the past decade, we never saw the full picture.”
The coroner held a death inquest this year – the hard-won result of a lawsuit by Leung and Chiu – which heard from 84 witnesses, many answering questions publicly for the first time.
Leung sobbed when she finally learned what happened to her brother, a well-liked trainee engineer whose body was found with head lacerations.
“For even the smallest details, the families want to know,” she said. “His death was too sudden, too pointless.” — AFP
