Update | Hong Kong government ‘providing assistance’ to family of death plunge girl, 15
The Hong Kong government pledged to help the family of a top British insurance executive whose 15-year-old daughter plunged to her death, as friends of the man described him as decent and not a “Hooray Henry”.
The Hong Kong government pledged to help the family of a top British insurance executive whose 15-year-old daughter plunged to her death in Repulse Bay yesterday, as friends of the man described him as decent person, and not a “Hooray Henry”.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung promised that the government would provide whatever assistance the family might need after police arrested their British father Nick Cousins, 58, and Filipino mother Grace, 53, at their luxury flat on suspicion of ill-treating their two daughters. The mother is also suspected of overstaying while police believe Cousins helped her to do so.
The unnamed girl and her 14-year-old sister, whose father is managing director of the Hong Kong branch of Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) – one of the world’s largest insurance brokers – had never been to school and possessed no identity documents. The girls instead attended a private tutorial centre.
The younger sister of the 15-year-old girl who plunged to her death in Repulse Bay on Tuesday was reunited with her father on Wednesday, after spending the night at a juvenile care home in Tuen Mun.
According to police, a decision on the police’s application for a care-and-protection order will be made in court in May.
“Before the decision is made, the girl is now being taken care of by her family,” a police spokeswoman said.
The minister said that police had arranged temporary accommodation for the younger daughter at a centre in Tuen Mun run by the Social Welfare Department.
“The department will continue to monitor the case closely and provide whatever services are required according to the welfare needs of the family,” Cheung said.
He also said a court care-and-protection order was being sought so that the department could have custody authority of the 14-year-old girl.
According to the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance, parents face a HK$2,000 fine and six months in jail if they fail to register the birth of a child.
Director of Immigration Eric Chan Kwok-ki said he could not comment on the case as it was still under investigation.
But he said that in general terms, it is a breach of Hong Kong law if parents do not register the birth of their children without a reasonable excuse.
He added that if the department received notification from a hospital about a birth, it would issue a letter to remind the parents to register the child and a follow-up letter 42 days later.
At 1.30pm, the Filipino mother was still being held for questioning at Aberdeen police station. She had not been charged.
A police spokeswoman said today that the Western district crime squad had taken over the investigation.
Meanwhile, a long-term expatriate who knows the family socially described Cousins as unpretentious, decent and “not the Hong Kong Club type” – a reference to the exclusive members club frequented by some of the city’s wealthiest expatriates.
“He isn’t a ‘Hooray Henry’ at all like so many of the expats in top jobs in Hong Kong. He’s more of an Essex boy type who worked his way up the corporate ladder and is just very bright and very good at what he does,” the friend said.
“I’ve heard he came here in the early 1990s and was recruited from Fenchurch Insurance Brokers in the City in London.
“I would see him at parties around town with Jardines executives but I rarely saw [Grace] out with him. If she was there, she would keep in the background. He’s just a very nice guy and has no airs about him.
“The last time I saw Nick was at a party in the Conrad Hotel in December. As usual, he was with other executives from Jardines but she wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
“I did see them out and about as a family in Repulse Bay at weekends. No one suspected they weren’t married.”
Another expat who knows Cousins socially said: “Nick came out here alone and met Grace a little while after arriving. I heard he met her on an evening out and they quickly became an item.”
JLT yesterday confirmed Cousins was managing director of its Hong Kong office.
“We are giving Nick our full support through this difficult time and he will be on extended compassionate leave until further notice,” a spokeswoman said, adding that the company would make no further comment on the “private matters”.
When approached by the today, JLT Asia executive chairman Anthony Langridge, who is overseeing Cousins’ duties during his absence, declined to comment.
Asked if daily operations of the company had been affected and if Cousins ever mentioned he was married with children, Langridge said: “We are dealing with a personal tragedy here,” saying he had nothing to add to the statement issued last night.
The 15-year-old girl leapt from their 19th-floor flat at 3 Repulse Bay at about 1.45am yesterday as her parents tried to unlock the toilet of the master bedroom that she had locked herself into.
The girl appeared to have been unhappy, though no suicide note was found at the scene, a police spokeswoman said. “There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Consulate General told the Post it was assisting the Filipino mother.
"[We have] already extended consular assistance to the Filipino mother of the 15-year-old girl," vice-consul Charles Macaspac said. "[The consulate] is still verifying the passport records of the Filipino national to ascertain her identity."
Additional reporting by Samuel Chan
