A Hong Kong man has been charged with murder over a deadly fire that killed 17 people in a karaoke bar in 1997. It follows his capture in mainland China after nearly three decades on the run.
Chan Wai-leung, now 52, appeared at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Saturday. He was denied bail and ordered into custody, local media reported.
Chan was arrested on Thursday after police received information from mainland Chinese law enforcement that he had been captured, superintendent Lam Kai-chor from the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau said in a press conference on Friday.
The suspect was believed to have been behind a fire at Top One Karaoke bar in Tsim Sha Tsui in 1997, which killed 17 people. Chan was 25 at the time.
“The force has evidence to show that the suspect played a major role in the case,” Lam said.
The superintendent said that, at around 4 am on January 25, 1997, at least two people threw petrol bombs at the karaoke bar, days after a gang quarrel at the scene.
Over the years, police have arrested five people for murder over the case. Four of them were sentenced to life imprisonment, while one was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 11 years, Lam said.
A 47-year-old man is still on the run, with a HK$400,000 reward being offered by police for information that could lead to his arrest. The man was 19 at the time.
Wearing a hooded cap, Chan was brought back to the site of the now-shuttered karaoke bar on Prat Avenue to re-enact the case on Friday. He was given a plastic bottle meant to resemble a Molotov cocktail.
According to local media outlets, Chan will appear in court again on February 24 next year.
