Triad member, 34, sentenced for retaliatory firebomb attack that killed 17

A triad member responsible for a firebomb attack that killed 17 people at a karaoke bar in 1997 was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Court of First Instance Tuesday.

Choi Kam-fai, 34, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of murder, in a five-to-two vote Monday.

In handing down sentence, presiding judge Andrew Macrae said the attack obviously had stemmed from Choi's quarrel with others and that he should take responsibility for the tragedy. The court had heard earlier that Choi, then 21, visited Top One Karaoke Box on Prat Avenue in Tsim Sha Tsui on January 20, 1997. Choi and his companions, fellow members of Sun Yee On Triad, had an altercation with bouncers at the bar, during which Choi was injured.

Three fire bombs were thrown into the bar early in the morning of January 25. The resultant fire left 17 dead and 13 injured. None of the bouncers at whom the attack was directed was hurt. The 17 killed were clerks and customers. The youngest victim was only 15.

Police made arrests two days later. Choi, nicknamed "Sheung Dae", which means "God", hid in Cheung Chau and Sha Tin for about six months before fleeing to the mainland. He was eventually captured in Shenzhen in late 2008.

During the trial, Choi denied any role in planning the attack, saying he acted only as a lookout. Testimony by Tung Shing-fei, Lee Ka-ho and Lau Ying-tat, three of Choi's accomplices, all of whom are serving jail terms, contradicted Choi's assertion of innocence.

After the sentencing Tuesday, superintendent Albert Man Tat-shing of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau said two other men - Chan Wai-leung, known as Mei Mei, and Chan Fok-ching, known as Ah Ching - are still wanted by police.

Man described the role played by the two remaining fugitives in the bombing as "very important". He urged the public to provide information on their whereabouts, adding that police are offering HK$200,000 for information leading to the capture of each.

Man also expressed gratitude to mainland police, who captured Choi in 2008.

"Choi was arrested after a lapse of 11 years. The mainland police provided great assistance in following his trail all these years," he said.

Asked if the two fugitives also are hiding on the mainland, Man said police are working on all possibilities and there's no evidence showing they are on the mainland.

Also on Tuesday, the notorious gangster Kwai Ping-hung and two other prison inmates appeared in District Court charged with assaulting Lau in Stanley Prison in an attempt to stop him from testifying against Choi. The three accused pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice. The case was adjourned to October 11.

Once the most wanted criminal in Hong Kong, Kwai, 51, is serving a 24-year term for using a firearm to resist arrest, possessing arms and ammunition and possessing explosives. Heavily armed policemen escorted the vehicle transporting him to the court Tuesday.

China Daily

(HK Edition 05/05/2010 page1)