Death of Chow Tsz-lok

The death of Chow Tsz-lok occurred on 8 November 2019 due to head injuries sustained after a fall from the third floor towards the second floor of the Sheung Tak car park in Tseung Kwan O on 4 November. In the moments preceding the fall, Chow was wandering alone inside the building and on a connecting footbridge. During the incident, in the nearby area outside the car park, there was an ongoing confrontation between protesters and the Hong Kong Police Force.

Chow Tsz-lok
周梓樂
Chow Tsz-lok was last captured on CCTV footage in the Sheung Tak car park at 01:02 on 4 November.
Died	(2019-11-08)8 November 2019 (aged 22) Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Cause of death	Head injuries from a fall
Nationality	Hong Kong, China
Education	Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Occupation	Student
Known for	Death associated with the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests

Chow, a 22-year-old student of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, suffered a severe brain injury that would lead to his death due to a cardiac arrest four days later. Chow is believed to be the first to die from injuries sustained during the Hong Kong protests that started in 2019, but the exact circumstances that led to his fall is not known. The Hong Kong government announced a comprehensive investigation into the incident.

Personal background

Chow Tsz-lok, also known as Alex Chow,[1] was a 22-year-old second-year computer science undergraduate student at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) at the time of the incident.[2] His friends said that they do not know Chow's political views, as they hardly discussed politics at school.[3]

Incident

The ledge from which Chow Tsz-lok fell

Prelude

After doxxing efforts by protesters to target police, private details of a police officer's wedding in Tseung Kwan O on 3 November 2019 were leaked and calls were made to crash the event, which would eventually lead to an overnight confrontation between police and protesters.[4] Around 16:00 on that day, the police were dispersing protesters who were disrupting the wedding held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Kowloon East.[5] About two hours later, the riot police arrived near the hotel.[5] It is not known if Chow was among these protesters.[5] The police said that security footage showed that Chow had departed from his home in Tseung Kwan O at 23:54.[2] Hereafter, around 00:20 on 4 November, a large gathering comprising over 100 protesters, with some creating roadblocks, had formed at the junction of Tong Ming Street and Tong Chun Street.[5]

Circumstances

Early 4 November, Chow sustained severe head injuries due to a fall from the third to the second storey inside the Sheung Tak car park in Tseung Kwan O.[2][6] It was near an area of confrontation between protesters and police.[2][6][7] The exact circumstances that led to his fall is not known.[2][7] It also remains unclear why Chow was at the car park.[2] It was reported by CNN that there was no indication that Chow was involved in the nearby protest.[6]

Map displaying the whereabouts of Chow Tsz-lok before the incident

The CCTV footage showed that Chow was wandering alone inside the car park and on a connecting footbridge from 0:26 to 01:02, which is when he was walking upwards to the third floor, the last moment captured on camera before the fall.[2][8] In the time frame reconstructed from the footage, Chow was located in the Beverly Garden shopping centre at 00:19 and 00:23, on the connecting footbridge at 00:26 as he entered the car park, in the car park at 00:38, 00:44, 00:45, 00:47 and 00:49, on the same footbridge again from 01:00 to 01:01 as he walked towards Beverly Garden and then returned to the car park, and in the car park again at 01:02.[9] The fall itself was not captured in the footage due to the operational camera rotations and parked vehicles blocking the view.[2][10]

The police said that they deployed tear gas in the area near the car park from 00:41 to 00:57.[5] As reported in the Time, it was initially unclear whether or not the tear gas, fired near the car park where protesters and officers clashed, had played a role in Chow's fall.[11] The Seattle Post-Intelligencer said that television footage showed police firing tear gas at the building "minutes earlier" from when Chow fell.[12] The location where the police fired tear gas was reported as the junction of Tong Ming Street and Tong Chun Street along the area adjacent to the western side of the car park, which is on the opposite side of the building and about 120 metres (parallel to the building) to 160 metres (from the junction) away from the spot where Chow fell.[5][6] In The New York Times, citing the security footage released by the building owner Link REIT, it was reported that there was no police presence or significant amounts of tear gas inside the car park in the moments before Chow fell.[13]

The police stated that officers conducted a dispersal operation in the building late Sunday, which happened before Chow arrived there, and a second operation that happened after Chow was found unconscious.[12] They were there from 23:06 until 23:20 for the first operation.[2] For the second operation, the police entered the building again at 01:05 from the ground floor to disperse protesters who had been throwing objects towards officers on the street from above.[2][5] The CCTV footage showed that the police entered the building at the time.[14] They also said that there were no police officers inside the building when Chow was walking around there.[6] The police concluded their dispersal operation in the car park at 01:25 and in the nearby area around the Sheung Tak car park at 01:45.[5] CGTN, a Chinese state media network, suggested that Chow had possibly been acting as a scout for the protesters and that his death was the result of a parkour accident unrelated to police action.[15] In a police briefing on 5 November, the Kowloon East Superintendent Wu Ka-yan said that Chow may have thought that there was a ledge below the third-floor wall, which led to his fall of four metres towards the second floor when he climbed over the wall.[5]

There were several people, including those in black clothing and firefighters, inside the car park at the time.[5] The firefighters arrived at the car park at 00:55 in response to a call about a fire.[9] At 01:05, they were informed by a passerby about Chow's fall onto the second floor.[2] The firefighters requested an ambulance at 01:11 as they were providing aid to Chow.[5] At 01:15, as seen in CCTV footage, over 20 police officers arrived at the spot where Chow had fallen and left about a minute later.[5] Suzette Foo, the Senior Superintendent (Operations) of Kowloon East, said that their officers learned about Chow's injuries when they reached the second floor as they gradually moved from the ground floor upwards.[16] She said that the firefighters told the police that they could handle the incident and did not require their help.[16] The police dispersed the people near the scene, in which they pointed crowd control weapons at the protesters, but left the first-aiders alone to provide care.[16]

Emergency services

The Hong Kong Fire Services Department gave the following account: At 01:11, ambulance A344 from the Po Lam district received an emergency call from firefighters and was dispatched for Chow at the second floor of the Sheung Tak car park.[17] They arrived via Po Shun Road at Tong Ming Street, but they could not proceed further as they were held up by a queue of vehicles including double-decker buses and private cars.[17] They then drove through the intersection towards the Sheung Tak Estate.[17] At 01:20, they arrived near the Kwong Ying House of the Kwong Ming Court, where the way was blocked by private cars and fire engines.[17] The ambulance personnel disembarked and walked to the scene with their equipment, arriving at their destination at 01:30, while their vehicle remained on the nearby road.[17] The ambulance left with Chow for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital at 01:41 and arrived at the hospital's Accident and Emergency Department at 01:59.[17]

Leung Kwok-lai, the Fire Services Department Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer (Kowloon East), said that the ambulance assigned to Chow did not come in contact with the police that were on duty.[9][13][18] He also stated that there were five ambulances deployed for various incidents in the area around that time: ambulance A344 assigned to Chow, two other ambulances handling to other persons, and the remaining two ambulances which did not handle any patients.[9][18]

The Fire Services Department said that it took 19 minutes for paramedics to arrive at the scene and that this was due to traffic congestion near the car park; this was seven minutes more than the 12-minute service pledge for emergencies.[10] The police said that roadblocks set up by protesters had prevented vehicles from passing.[6] Protesters maintain that the police blocked the ambulance from reaching Chow,[11] which the police called false and groundless.[19] In an email to HKUST staff and students pledging to take up the matter with police and demand clarification, HKUST president Wei Shyy said: "We saw the footage of ambulances being blocked by police cars and the paramedics walking to the scene, causing a delay of 20 minutes in the rescue operation of our student."[20] However, it was ascertained that the widely disseminated footage actually depicted ambulance A346, which was assigned to a person with shortness of breath and back pain who would decline ambulance services; the personnel encountered an ongoing police dispersal operation against protesters, where tear gas was used, and waited in the ambulance for safety.[18]

Chow remained hospitalised in a critical condition with a severe brain injury at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital from early 4 November until his death due to a cardiac arrest at 08:09 on 8 November.[10] The hospital referred the case to the Coroner's Court.[2]

Investigation

Police investigation

The police stated that they would carry out an in-depth investigation, recommend an inquest into the death, and submit a report to the coroner.[19]

After reviewing footage from over 30 cameras provided by the building owner Link REIT, investigators ruled that Chow could not have been pushed by police officers as the police entered the car park after the estimated time frame of his fall, could not have been hit by beanbags or rubber bullets shot by the police as the distance was too great to reach him, and could not have fallen due to tear gas as no person in the area was affected and no smoke filled the area.[5] However, the cause for the fall could not be determined from the footage.[5] The police said that they would seek security footage from nearby buildings.[5]

Injuries

It was reported that Chow had a fractured right pelvis from likely a lateral compression, a torn internal iliac artery, a fractured skull base, bleeding in mainly the right half of the brain, and an intra-abdominal hemorrhage.[21] He had no obvious injuries to his hands and feet, nor had he been shot with bullets or was he bruised from a beating.[21] The toxicology results only showed drugs administered after his admission to the hospital.[21]

Coroner's Court

As reported on 16 May 2020, Kwok Ka-chuen (Kenneth Kwok), Chief Superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch, said that investigators had submitted a progress report to the Coroner's Court, which would open an inquest and make the documents public.[22]

Responses in Hong Kong

Official responses

On 8 November 2019, the Hong Kong government expressed "great sorrow and regret" over Chow's death and extended sympathies to his family, and added that a "comprehensive investigation to find out what happened" was already under way.[11]

Protesters

A memorial for Chow in Tamar Park on 9 November

The death of Chow sparked heightened anger among protesters,[6][12] repeated calls for revenge by protesters,[23][24] and the escalation of protester violence.[20][25] As part of the ongoing polarising disinformation, unsubstantiated claims about the police's role in the death of Chow began spreading widely among protesters and subsequently the public[26] – in particular, allegations that Chow had been chased and even pushed by the police, and that police blocked an ambulance from reaching him.[26]

During a 6 November forum at HKUST to discuss Chow's incident, a student from the Chinese mainland was assaulted, including repeatedly hit on the head, by a crowd of protesters.[19][27] HKUST president Wei Shyy denounced those responsible for the violence and those who aided or abetted the attack.[19][28]

On 8 November, many people queued at the place where Chow had fallen to participate in a memorial, placing offerings of flowers, candles, and paper cranes.[12] About a thousand protesters marched in the central business district; they chanted anti-police slogans and shouted at the police, including calling them "murderers".[12] In several locations around Hong Kong, protesters blocked roads, lit fires, and vandalised Mass Transit Railway stations, while the police responded with tear gas.[12] A graduation ceremony at HKUST on that day was cut short when masked students dressed in black took the stage and turned it into a memorial service for Chow.[12]

A vigil was held the next day in Tamar Park, with organisers claiming an attendance of 100,000, while police put that figure at 7,500.[29]

On 11 November, sparked by Chow's death, student protesters marched to the residence of HKUST president Shyy and called on him to "condemn police violence"; they daubed graffiti and vandalised the residence and also vandalised a Starbucks café and Bank of China branch on campus; classes at HKUST were cancelled for repairs after mass vandalism on the campus.[19]

The death of Chow ignited an escalation of violent protests, initiating the so-called "Blossom Everywhere" campaign from 11 November onward in which protesters established roadblocks, disrupted train services, and vandalised public spaces across the city that would ultimately lead to conflicts where a protester was shot in Sai Wan Ho, a man was doused and set on fire in Ma On Shan, and an elderly man was killed after he was hit with a brick in Sheung Shui, eventually culminating into large-scale police sieges on university campuses, such as at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where the protesters had retreated to serve as their bases of operation.[30]

Others

Man-Kei Tam, the director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, called for an independent and urgent investigation into the events leading to Chow's fall, including into the allegations that the police delayed the ambulance.[31] The activist Joshua Wong said that Chow's death made the demand for an independent investigation into police conduct even more crucial, stating that "Reforming the Hong Kong police force has become a big demand in the society,"[12][32] and asserted that "Obviously, the Hong Kong police force has to be accountable for Chow's death."[32] The Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor observed the absence of trust between police and the public and thus urged the coroner to "proactively investigate, and take additional measures to ensure the credibility of the investigation."[2]

In an open letter, HKUST president Wei Shyy called for a thorough and independent investigation into Chow's death, and a clarification from all parties and especially the police to the cause of the ambulance delay.[13][19] The provisional president of the HKUST student union, Lai Wai-chun, said that he hoped that the university authorities could investigate the reasons for Chow's death and the alleged delay in emergency medical personnel reaching Chow.[11] The police responded to Shyy's open letter, stating the following points: the Regional Crime Unit of Kowloon East was investigating the case and would do so in depth; the police had recommended a death inquest and would submit a death investigation report to the coroner; the Fire Services Department clarified that the ambulance had no interaction with police officers at the scene, but was obstructed by buses and private cars and not by police vehicles.[33]

Aftermath

An article published by Next Magazine alleged that Po Fook Memorial Hall, which supposedly had been approached by Chow's mother to organise her son's funeral arrangements, had declined to hold Chow's funeral ceremony and said that the entire funeral services sector would not help her.[34][35] The Po Fook Memorial Hall denied the report and said that they were working with Chow's family to provide services.[34][36] The public service was held on the evening of 12 December.[7][37]

On 25 February 2020, the Sai Kung District Council announced that they will hold a meeting on 3 March, as eight members of the Council requested that the two resting places in the Tseung Kwan O district be named "Chow Tsz-lok Memorial Park" and "Chan Yin-lam Memorial Park".[38] This caused an uproar against the decision, with the public condemning such action as disrespectful to the deceased and their families, as well as nearby residents.[39] The families of the deceased have not been consulted by the proposers of the motion.[39]

See also

• Death of Chan Yin-lam
• Death of Luo Changqing

References

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