The father of a Hong Kong student who died after a fall near a pro-democracy protest says he urged the 22-year-old to be careful before his son left their flat that night.
Alex Chow Tsz-lok, a student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, died after suffering serious injuries from a fall in a car park in Tseung Kwan O in November last year.
The incident occurred while police were dispersing protesters nearby. There was no CCTV footage of the moment when Chow fell.
His father Chow Tak-ming told an inquest Monday that his son left their flat at around 11.40pm on November 3 last year, according to media reports. He asked his son why he was going out so late at night but Alex Chow did not reply and he told him to “be careful”.
After midnight, Chow’s father messaged his son to say police were firing tear gas. Chow replied two minutes later, telling his father to close the windows. That was his last message.
At around 2 am, Chow’s secondary school friends banged on the door, saying he had fallen from from the third floor. Chow’s parents took a taxi to the hospital, where they found their son unconscious.
According to Chow’s father’s testimony, his son never regained consciousness and his condition deteriorated later that week. After he suffered a cardiac arrest, his parents agreed that treatment should stop.
The inquest at West Kowloon magistrates’ court is expected to last five weeks and will call more than 40 witnesses.
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