Police said on Saturday that they've laid a holding charge of murder against a 52-year-old man on suspicion of setting a Tsim Sha Tsui karaoke parlour on fire 27 years ago, leaving 17 people dead.

The case will be mentioned at West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on Saturday morning.

Officers said they were informed by their mainland counterparts earlier this week that the suspect had been apprehended. The man 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.

"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 and sentenced in connection with the case. 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.
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Last updated: 2024-11-30 HKT 07:28