Lamma disaster victims' families publicise angry letter to CY Leung

Relatives of the Lamma Island ferry crash victims have publicised a letter they wrote to the chief executive, slamming the Marine Department for the accident and demanding an independent probe into its failings.

The letter, dated May 8, was signed by about 25 relatives of the victims and addressed to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and the Department of Justice.

It expressed their anger over Director of Marine Francis Liu Hon-por's refusal to apologise for his department's negligence.

"[He] had no shoulder and no backbone to bear responsibilities and admit faults. I am surprised such a conscienceless man is actually a head of a government department," the letter stated.

The family members said they decided to publicise the letter yesterday because they were dissatisfied with the government's "bureaucratic reply" to the first collective action they had taken since the October 1 collision.

Leung had ordered his personal secretary to respond to the letter, reiterating the government's follow-up actions and offering the family members his condolences.

A commission of inquiry report on the National Day ferry crash had found that the Marine Department's "serious systematic failings" contributed to the tragedy which claimed 39 lives.