Special burial sought for policeman

A police officer who died after falling from the roof of a covered footbridge while trying to reach a protester is expected to be buried in Gallant Garden, a police unionist said yesterday.

Police, unions and family members are mourning the death of Detective Sergeant Lau Chi-kin, 49, who died on Wednesday after serving on the force for 30 years.

Police will submit a request to the Civil Service Bureau for approval to bury Lau in Gallant Garden, a cemetery for civil servants who lost their lives in the line of duty, said Junior Police Officers' Association chairman Gary Wong Ching.

'Ultimately, the department will act in accordance with the family's wishes,' Wong said.

The force's welfare section is helping Lau's widow and their 20-year-old daughter with accommodation and other matters, given that they might have to move out of the police quarters, he said.

Although the Lau family's financial situation is fine, Wong said, help might be needed to support his daughter's studies in Britain.

Lau's family and colleagues attended a memorial ceremony yesterday on a footbridge in Central near the one on which he is believed to have slipped on a rain-soaked section and fallen four metres onto a podium in Exchange Square.

Relatives and friends wept and presented flowers in offering during the Taoist ceremony. Many passers-by also stopped and bowed to show their last respects to the policeman.

Meanwhile, the protester involved, Lau Yuk-tong, yesterday made an appointment to see a doctor. Lawmaker Albert Chan Wai-yip, who has been helping Lau for four years, said he was emotionally unstable. Chicken trader Lau, 62, was protesting on the roof of the footbridge on Wednesday morning, demanding compensation for his business going bust after the bird flu scare in 2008.

Detective Sergeant Lau tried to reach the chicken trader but slipped and fell. He died in Queen Mary Hospital, surrounded by his family.