CGATION
INTO THE DEATH OF
LIU PING-HON
ON July 26, 1977, at approximately 7.15 am, one Liu Ping-hon,
a Chinese male aged 26 years, met his death. His body was
found crumpled on the roadway outside the Hon Ming Building,
a 22 storey residential block situated at 227-233 Des Voeux
Road, West, Hong Kong.
At a Coroner's Inquest, held before D.J. Leonard, Esq.
at Court No 4, North Kowloon Magistracy on September 27, 1977
a coroner's jury of three persons heard the evidence of
16 witnesses and, after deliberating for 75 minutes, returned
an Open Verdict on the death of Liu Ping-hon. Two members of
the Hong Kong Bar, Martin Lee Esq. and William Stone, Esq.,
instructed by Deacons & Co., represented the family of the
deceased at this hearing.
That which follows is a synthesis of the available
evidence in this matter which, viewed in its entirety,
constitutes a powerful argument for the institution, in the
public interest, of a strenuous further investigation into
the cause of death of Liu Ping-hon.
BACKGROUND OF THE DECEASED
(i) Family
The immediate family of the deceased consists of his
elderly mother, Madam Liu King-yee, and an older
sister, Mrs. Yip (nee Miss Liu Ping-kee). He had
been brought up by his mother, who arrived with her
children from Canton in or around 1959. Madam Liu
was employed as a janitor at a kindergarten situated
in the Tung Chi Building, 1st Floor, 244 Des Voeux
Road, West, and lived with her son on these premises.
(ii) Education
14
Liu Ping-hon attended King's College, was Captain of
his House, and was regarded as an enthusiastic and
active student. He failed his matriculation examination