Two able to finally smile as they get their day in court

Family members of the Lamma victims were finally able to smile and shed tears of relief now that an inquest would be held into the disaster after an 11-year fight.

"This is the first time I can smile in front of a camera after all these years," said Leung Shuk-ling, who lost her younger brother Leung Ka-kit.

Leung said she hadn't imagined their fight for an inquest could drag on for over a decade.

The court of appeal has said the case involved public interest, she said, adding it might involve administrative and structural problems and urging people involved to offer all information they know during the inquest.

The court order for an inquest is only the first step and the case can only be closed after the truth is uncovered at the hearings, Leung said.

Leung also said she was nervous and worried on the eve of the ruling as family members of the victims had found getting to the truth of the matter had been an extremely difficult process.

She insists she is prepared for the inquest and that she has considered the public interest in the pursuit of the truth.

"The victims have already passed away, but their sacrifice brought truth to the situation and showed up many systemic mistakes. We need to reflect on the mistakes so there won't be any more tragedies," she said.

Leung thanked the police and her legal team for getting the evidence and offering professional opinions to family members, adding the force too had suggested way back in 2015 that there should be an inquest.

Chiu Ping-chuen who lost his elder sister Chiu Siu-king, said he burst into tears upon hearing the ruling.

"I have often thought about giving up over the past 11 years, but I chose to continue because our family members cannot die for nothing," he said.

"I want to find out the truth behind the collision to be able to tell people the reason for the victims' deaths and bring justice for the deceased."

Chiu said the most difficult time for him was when family members' request for an inquest was rejected.

"We were at a dead end and there was no way out for us," he said.

"It was difficult for us to ask for a coroner's inquest. It was the government's responsibility but we had to do it ourselves"

The Transport and Logistics Bureau said it "will render full cooperation to the death inquest."

But it refused any further comment, saying doing so would be sub judice.

Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, who was the transport secretary at the time, yesterday refused to comment on the court's decision.

Cheung said he has already revealed everything that he knows as he has also broached the collision in a book after leaving the government.

But he said the inquest was a good development.

Former lawmaker James To Kun-sun, who has been assisting the family members for a decade, said he never imagined it would be so difficult to get an inquest into the catastrophe.

He hopes it t can get at the truth of why the calamity had happened and answer the families' questions.