Family of protester absent as coroner opens inquest

The Coroner’s Court has opened its inquest into the death of a protester who fell from scaffolding in the early days of the 2019 social unrest, but family members of the man will not be involved in the case after failing to respond to an official appeal to make contact.

The court began proceedings yesterday to examine the cause and circumstances of the death of Marco Leung Ling-kit, who climbed onto a platform at Pacific Place in Admiralty on June 15, 2019, to hang a protest banner.

Leung’s parents initially hired lawyers to act on their behalf during the inquest, but they applied to withdraw from the case at a pretrial hearing in February as they had lost contact with the clients.

The court issued a public appeal that same month calling on the family to contact the court’s clerk, but it was revealed yesterday that no information had been received.

Leung’s family, consisting of his parents and younger sister, moved out of their residence in Yuen Long in August 2019, two months after his death.

But police did not realise this until officers went to the flat after the February hearing and found a new tenant had moved in four months earlier.

Coroner Ko Wai-hung disbanded the five-member jury half a day into the latest proceedings yesterday, after learning a juror had difficulty understanding evidence in Cantonese.

The inquiry will restart today before a new panel.

The inquest, slated to last 12 days, is expected to call 21 witnesses, including police negotiators and firefighters who tried to rescue Leung. The court will also hear statements from the late protester’s family members, which were recorded before authorities lost contact with them.