Police officers give contradictory testimony on whether death of Hong Kong teen girl was first deemed suspicious
- Constable tells inquest his superior found it suspicious that Chan Yin-lam’s body was naked and bore minor injuries when pulled from waters last year
- But the sergeant denies he made such a classification, saying the body’s decomposed state and lack of any apparent fatal wounds made determination difficult
Police officers investigating how a 15-year-old girl died last September have offered conflicting accounts of whether her death was initially classified as suspicious after her naked body was pulled from Hong Kong waters.
Chan Yin-lam was last seen by a friend on school campus and later caught on security cameras leaving an MTR station on September 19. Her body was found in the waters of Tseung Kwan O three days later.
Police Constable Chan Kwok-wing was sent to retrieve the body by boat and told the Coroner’s Court it gave off an unpleasant smell when it was brought on board and the face was already black.
He said the case was ruled suspicious by his superior, Sergeant Man Wai-cheung, as the body was naked with minor injuries to the lips, right calf and left foot.
“Sergeant Man said the case was suspicious because the body was stark naked,” Chan said.
