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Clifford Lo

Yuen Chi-yung lost consciousness in  bushes near where he was last seen, after tripping and hitting his head

A young man hiking in Sai Kung who went missing on Sunday has been found dead in dense bushes.

Police believe Yuen Chi-yung tripped and injured his head in the fall, then lost consciousness, never to wake up. His belongings were with him, and police do not suspect he was attacked.

His body was found near Lo Fu Kei Shek shortly before 11am as more than 150 rescuers went into their third day of the search.

Police said Yuen had been dead for at least 24 hours. An autopsy will be carried out.

Yuen, a 22-year-old bachelor, was leading a team of four female hikers as part of a weekend training course in the Sai Kung Country Park organised by the YMCA. The team became lost at midday on Sunday while walking 15km from Cheung Sheung to Wong Shek.

They telephoned their coach, who said to take another path via Lo Fu Kei Shek.

Police said Yuen went to check a trail that was not an official path. He walked about 10 metres from a junction where he separated from the team, and got trapped on a densely covered hilltop in Lo Fu Kei Shek. The bushes cover a 500-metre-by-500-metre area and are over 2 metres tall.

When his teammates could not find him, they telephoned their coach, who later dialled 999.

'He probably tripped and hit his forehead on the ground and then lost consciousness as he tried to find a way out in the bushes,' deputy Wong Tai Sin district commander, Senior Superintendent Leung Man-kon, said.

'There were no signs to suggest that he had tried to call with his mobile phone and blow his whistle to seek help,' he said.

Police said there was no evidence to suggest Yuen was the victim of any violence.

'An injury was found to his forehead and it was probably caused in the fall. His belongings including his mobile phone and money were not stolen. Investigation showed that there were no suspicious circumstances,' Mr Leung said.

Executive officer Yeung Kai-cheong of the YMCA said it would look into the police report and review its safety measures.

But he said existing courses would continue. 'All expeditions must have their risk elements. It is just like that we go out and may meet a car accident,' Mr Yeung said.

The Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong said it was saddened by the death.

Its spokeswoman said it would review safety measures.

Leung Lim Joe, an instructor with the Hong Kong Mountaineering Union, said the route where Yuen was hiking was not very dangerous, but leaving him alone was risky.

'I think the other hikers shouldn't have left him alone, especially when he was not feeling well. It increases the risk greatly.'

Mobile phone reception is very poor in the Sai Kung Country Park. Only very weak signals from China Mobile or China Unicom can get through 100 metres from where Yuen's body was found.

Yuen is the second hiker to go missing in the past month.  Policeman Ting Li-wah could not be  found after he was reported missing on September 11.



Hiker gone missing in Sai Kung found dead