Fugitive linked to 1997 karaoke arson sent back to HK

Police said on Friday that a man has been arrested on suspicion of setting a Tsim Sha Tsui karaoke parlour on fire 27 years ago, leaving 17 people dead. Officers said they were informed by their mainland counterparts two days ago that the suspect had been apprehended. The man, now 52, was sent back to Hong Kong on Thursday through the Shenzhen Bay border. Superintendent Lam Kai-chor from the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau said the force had verified the man's identity through his fingerprints. Lam confirmed the suspect will be charged. "The force has evidence to show that the suspect played a major role in the case," he alleged. The hooded suspect was brought back to the scene on Friday night to re-enact the case. He was given a plastic bottle which resembled a Molotov cocktail. Police said Molotov cocktails were thrown at the now-shuttered Top One Karaoke on January 25, 1997, days after two gangs got into a quarrel at the scene. Seventeen people died due to smoke inhalation. Five other culprits have been arrested earlier. Four of them have been jailed for life, while another received 11 years for manslaughter. The remaining suspect, Chan Fok-ching, is still on the run. Police said a HK$400,000 reward continues to be offered for information leading to his arrest.

Fugitive linked to 1997 karaoke arson sent back to HK

Fugitive linked to 1997 karaoke arson sent back to HK

Fugitive linked to 1997 karaoke arson sent back to HK

Fugitive linked to 1997 karaoke arson sent back to HK

Fugitive linked to 1997 karaoke arson sent back to HK