Hong Kong judge dies en route to hospital after collapsing at home
Magistrate Dr Eric Cheung Kwan-ming was found unconscious by his 80-year-old mother
A Kowloon City magistrate hailed as meticulous in court but “cheerful” as a friend collapsed at his Cheung Sha Wan home on Sunday and died before reaching a hospital.
Magistrate Dr Eric Cheung Kwan-ming, 44, was found unconscious by his 80-year-old mother in his residence at Banyan Garden tower 7 on Lai Chi Kok Road at about 9.15am, a police spokesman said, ruling out foul play.
A neighbour called an ambulance. Cheung was taken to Caritas Medical Centre but died before arrival.
Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li expressed deep sadness over Cheung’s death and offered his deepest condolences to his family, a Judiciary spokesman said. “Dr Cheung will be greatly missed,” the department said.
A friend of Cheung, who preferred not to be named, described the magistrate’s passing as sudden. He said he never complained about any health problems.
The friend recalled the magistrate’s “cheerful” personality. “He is a very nice man,” said the friend, who met Cheung when the future magistrate was a trainee in the Justice Department.
Known for his penchant for food, Cheung became meticulous as a magistrate, someone who knew procedures and case law, the friend said.
When it came to teaching, Cheung was always prepared, said the friend, who occasionally lectured with him.
Born in the city in 1972, Cheung obtained a bachelor of laws, a postgraduate certificate in laws and a master of arts degree in arbitration and dispute resolution from City University in 1995, 1996 and 1999 respectively.
He obtained a master of laws from City University and the University of Hong Kong in 2000 and 2004 respectively.
Cheung was called to the bar in Hong Kong in 1996. He entered private practice in 1997 before being appointed a permanent magistrate in December 2009.
He received a doctor of judicial science degree from City University in 2012 with a dissertation on the reform of Hong Kong’s jury system.
In a judgment he handed down in Kowloon City Court in June, Cheung jailed a Hong Kong tour guide for five months for “severely affecting the city’s image as a shopping paradise” over his assault on two mainland tourists outside a jewellery shop in Hung Hom last October. One of the tourists later died of a heart attack.
In a case relating to post-Occupy protests, he cleared a 17-year-old student of assaulting a police officer. He went on to criticise a constable for inaccurately accusing the student and referred the officer to the police complaints unit.
