Magistrate dies in fall from Pok Fu Lam flat
Timothy Jenkins, principal magistrate of Sha Tin Court, died after he was thought to have jumped out of a window of a friend's 19th-floor flat in Pok Fu Lam yesterday.
Jenkins, 52, was found unconscious outside block two at Victoria Garden in Victoria Road at 1.30pm. He was declared dead at the scene.
A fellow magistrate said Jenkins may have had cancer, but he had remained cheerful at work.
A police officer believed he leapt out of a window from the bedroom of the residence of Henry Mierczak, magistrate of Eastern Court.
Investigations showed he had an illness and there were no suspicious circumstances, the officer said.
Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang said he was 'deeply saddened' to learn of Jenkins' death. 'On behalf of all judges and staff of the judiciary, I shall be conveying our deepest condolences and sympathies to his family.' He said Jenkins was 'a very competent magistrate and a fine man'.
Jenkins was liked by his friends and co-workers in court because of his friendly and sincere personality.
He had been separated from his wife, who now lives in Britain.
Jenkins was born in Britain in 1957. After graduating from Oxford University and Aberystwyth University in 1976 and 1980 respectively, he completed the solicitors finals in Law College, Guildford, in 1981.
He was admitted as a solicitor in Britain in 1983, and in Hong Kong the following year. He was in private practice from 1981 to 1990, was appointed magistrate in 1990 and principal magistrate in 2001.
