Hong Kong policeman who survived shot to the head by armed robbers 23 years ago dies after fight with lung cancer
A Hong Kong police inspector who survived being shot in the head by armed robbers 23 years ago died today in hospital after a battle with lung cancer.
A Hong Kong police inspector who survived being shot in the head by armed robbers 23 years ago died in hospital on Monday at the age of 51.
Chan Sze-ki, who lost his sense of smell and some of his sense of taste in the 1992 incident, had fought lung cancer in recent years. He died at Haven of Hope Hospital in Tseung Kwan O at about 9am.
Once considered a rising star in the police force, Chan cheated death after he took a gun shot to the head, fired from an AK-47 assault rifle, on April 24, 1992 during a raid on a building on Li Tak Street in Tai Kok Tsui serving as a safe house for a gang of armed jewellery thieves.
Five robbers inside the flat opened fire with AK-47 assault rifles and threw grenades at the lightly armed officers. Five policemen and 14 civilians were injured. Chan tripped in front of the gang's leader, who shot him point-blank.
Chan underwent numerous operations and returned to the Kowloon East regional crime unit in December 1992 after 128 days in hospital.
In 2001, he decided to quit detective work. He served a short spell as a trainer before joining the Kowloon East Regional Intelligence Unit in 2003.