Arrest over 1997 karaoke bar fire as part of Hong Kong ‘justice’ over 17 deaths – witness says

A security guard who witnessed a fire at a Hong Kong karaoke bar that killed 17 people almost three decades ago called the arrest this week of a fugitive involved in the case a “justice” for the dead man, recalling the deep sadness he felt when he learned that people he knew died in the flames.

Security guard Chen Zhi-hao, now 68, has been stationed at the Wardley Center on Prat Avenue in Tsim Sha Tsui since 1992, opposite where the Top One Karaoke bar once stood.

At around 4 a.m. on January 25, 1997, at least two people firebombed the facility, killing 17 people aged 16 to 42 and injuring another 13.

“I felt great sadness at the time,” Chen told the Post on Saturday, following the arrest of suspect Chan Wai-leung earlier this week after 27 years on the run.

“I knew some of the ladies who worked there because they would come and go from my building sometimes…we would say hello to each other while they were waiting for the elevators.

“I later found out that several of them had died in the fire…I couldn’t sleep for a while.”