Alice Leung Shuk-ling, who lost her 23-year-old brother in the 2012 Lamma ferry disaster, says she knows the upcoming Coroner’s Court verdict will not provide all answers for the families of the deceased. She views it as an ellipsis, not a full stop, in her over-a-decade-long quest for truth.
Alice Leung Shuk-ling has spent more than a decade seeking the truth behind a 2012 ferry crash that killed her 23-year-old brother and 38 others. She expects the Coroner’s Court verdict due on Wednesday to be merely an ellipsis—not a full stop—in her quest.
Now 40, Leung said she never expected last year’s 44-day inquest into the Lamma IV crash to unearth all the answers families of the deceased had demanded for years. But she believes the inquest holds “symbolic meaning” for those wanting to know why their loved ones met their tragic end.
On October 1, 2012, the Lamma IV was struck by the Sea Smooth catamaran while carrying 124 HK Electric employees and their relatives to watch National Day fireworks over Victoria Harbour. The collision killed 39 people.
The coroner is set to deliver a verdict on the cause of the tragedy on Wednesday, nearly 13 years after a commission of inquiry submitted its report to the government in April 2013. The government also conducted internal investigations, and separate police probes led to prosecutions and convictions of relevant parties.
Leung noted that while the inquest may not provide complete closure, it represents a continued push by families for accountability in the disaster.
