Hostage tragedy: Survivors still in pain

HONG KONG – A year after the bloody hostage crisis in Manila, some of the survivors are still bitter over what they perceived to be the inability of the Philippine government to give justice to the victims.

“Until now, it has been one year but those injured are still suffering. The families of the deceased are still feeling their loss and are very unhappy. Whenever there are festivals, we feel our family’s loss even more. I miss my brother. We can never forget this,” remarked Tse Chi-hang, the younger brother of tour guide Masa Tse Ting-chunn who was among the eight killed in the Aug. 23 bus hostage-taking incident in Manila.

A year after the bloodbath that strained Hong Kong and Philippine relations, the family of Tse Chi-kin, Tse Chi-hang, and Lee Mei-chun wept as they again recounted their tragic loss.

The Tse family and Democratic Party legislator James To Kun-sun said their trip to Manila to mark the first anniversary of the hostage-taking incident would be all about four “reasonable and simple demands.”

In the group’s letter addressed to President Aquino that was handed through the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong last Aug. 13, the hostage survivors and the victims’ families urged the President to demonstrate sincerity in taking responsibility.

They demanded a formal public apology and provide compensation to the victims.

They also demanded the officials involved in the hostage negotiations to be accountable for gross negligence and incompetence in handling the incident.

The group also urged the Philippine government to implement effective measures to safeguard the security of tourists to prevent similar tragedies.

“With all due respect, we sincerely urge you (President Aquino), as head of the Philippine government, to honor your country by ensuring that justice be served,” the group said in their letter.

Tse Chi-hang noted that the Philippine government’s response to these four demands through Justice Secretary Leila de Lima would determine their next course of action.

“We are still thinking how we can put this forward because what we are actually asking for are very reasonable and very simple. If we can resolve these issues without going to court, we will be happy to do so,” Tse Chi-hang said.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the government has been making headway in these four demands.

Lacierda stressed the government had repeatedly apologized for the incident.

The group, however, said they had only received two resolutions from the Philippine Congress expressing sympathies.

“It has never ceased to perplex us in the past twelve months as to why, for such a terrible incident which has not only inflicted profound agony to us personally but also shocked the whole Hong Kong society, the Philippine government has not made any attempts to contact us to deliver any note of condolences,” their letter read.

“There has not been a single word from the Philippine government itself, or from you as head of the Philippine government, directly addressed to us to express any concern about our bereavement and misery caused by the incompetent action or inaction of your government officials and police force,” it continued.

Tse Chi-hang also expressed disappointment over President Aquino’s reported reluctance to meet them to personally hear their concerns.

Days before the first anniversary of the hostage tragedy, Lacierda expressed reservations over the group’s request to meet Aquino.

Lacierda said the request could have a “political color” since the group had been accompanied by a lawmaker with the elections in Hong Kong forthcoming.

But the victim’s brother stressed that they were never interested in politics.

“We are just normal citizens in Hong Kong. We do not know politics. What I can only see in this event is that my brother got killed without any reason. The rescue team in the Philippines could not save my brother. They could not save lives,” Tse Chi-hang said.

The group led by Tse Chi-hang and legislator To spoke in English before a press conference Saturday.

To admitted that due to the seeming language barrier, he had to explain the group’s sentiments in English. Tse Chi-kin and survivor Joe Chan Kwok-chu who was shot in both hands spoke in Chinese, while another survivor Yik Siu-ling whose lower jaw was shattered by a bullet was silent.

Legislator To also urged the Chinese government to represent the group’s interest in the forthcoming state visit of President Aquino in Beijing.

“We want the Central People’s Government to take advantage of the meeting with the Philippine president in the coming several days to represent the interest of the families to negotiate for the settlement and apology for the Hong Kong families, Hong Kong people and Chinese citizens,” To said.

Tse Chi-kin, meanwhile, urged the Hong Kong government to ensure that the Philippines improve its safety measures for tourists before lifting the travel warning.

He added the Hong Kong government should consult independent experts to examine safety measures for visiting tourists before deciding whether to lift the Black Travel Alert against the Philippines that has been in force since the Aug. 23 hostage-taking incident.

The Hong Kong Security Bureau continues to enforce a black outbound travel alert (OTA) against the Philippines and advises its citizens to “avoid all travel” to the Philippines.

“In light of the incident in Manila, people are concerned about the personal safety of Hong Kong residents when traveling in the Philippines. We will closely monitor the improvement measures to be taken by the Philippine authorities to restore the confidence of Hong Kong residents to travel to the country,” a security bureau spokesman said.

The Aug. 23 hostage tragedy claimed the lives of eight Hong Kong tourists after the daylong negotiations with the hostage-taker, dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, had failed.

Mendoza who was also killed during the shootout, demanded his return to the police force. Dismissed from the police force in 2009 over extortion charges, Mendoza commandeered a Hong Thai Travel tourist bus outside Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila and held hostage 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipino guides for several hours in front of the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park.

Armed with an M-16 rifle and a pistol, Mendoza had released several hostages before the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Manila police launched a rescue operation that led to the deaths of Mendoza and eight hostages.

Aside from the Tse family, three other Hong Kong families suffered tragic losses from the hostage-taking incident.

The three fatalities were Ken Leung Kam-Wing, 58, and his daughters Doris Leung Chung-see, 21, and Jessie Leung Song-yi, 14.

Ken’s wife Amy Ng Leung Yau-woon, 53, survived the tragedy, while her son Jason Leung Song-xue, 19, suffered a serious head injury and was hospitalized for months.

The three other victims were Wong Tze-lam, 51, his wife Yeung Yee-wa, 44, and sister-in-law Yeung Yee-kam, 46. The Wong couple’s two children - Tracey, 15, and Jason, 12 - survived the tragedy after being freed by the hostage taker.

The eighth victim was a father, Fu Cheuk-yan, 39. His wife Tsang Yee-lai, 40, and two children, Fu Chung-yin, 4, and Fu Chak-yin, 10, were released unharmed.

Last March, the Hong Kong Coroner’s Court ruled that the incident constituted “unlawful killings.”

After a 28-day inquest, the court ruled that the Manila police officers contributed to the bloodbath by failing to stop other people, including reporters, from communicating with the hostage taker.

The court also ruled that the negotiations broke down when the police arrested Mendoza’s younger brother Gregorio.

In September last year, the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) led by De Lima concluded that the hostage taker killed all the victims.

The IIRC recommended administrative and criminal charges against a number of officials, including Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim. But President Aquino ordered only the filing of administrative charges against seven officials, and criminal charges against Gregorio Mendoza.