Hong Kong captain jailed for 8 years over ferry tragedy

The Hong Kong boat captain who was at the stern in a 2012 ferry collision that killed 39 people has been sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter. Sea Smooth skipper Lai Sai Ming, 56, has been found guilty following a trial that gripped the city, over the accident between his high-speed ferry and a pleasure boat near Lamma Island.

It’s been a personal tragedy for you and your family but it cannot begin to compare with the grief of those who lost their loved ones.

Judge Brian Keith, Hong Kong

Chow Chi-wai, 58, who was steering the leisure boat Lamma IV with 120 people on board during the collision on October 1, 2012, was jailed for nine months for endangering others’ safety at sea. He was acquitted of all 39 charges of manslaughter. The collision raised questions over safety in the crowded waters of Hong Kong, one of the world’s busiest ports, with an inquiry pointing to a “litany of errors” that caused the disaster.

Asia-Pacific Lamma Ferry