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SCMP Reporter

Lawyer John Fang Meng-sang hailed an inquest jury as 'brave and responsible' yesterday after it found that model Annie Pang Chor-ying - whose skeleton was discovered  in a flat owned by Mr Fang - had died by accident or misadventure.

Mr Fang, who rejected allegations during the inquest that he had ordered the death of Pang, said he and his whole family, including his sister, former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang, were happy about the outcome.

But Pang's family were not satisfied with the verdict and said they  would pursue the case further.

The five jurors, who retired yesterday morning, took 41/2 hours to reach the verdict. They said Pang, then just 29, had died 'about July 1995' in the Yau Ma Tei flat, from a drug overdose or choking on vomit.

Coroner Colin Mackintosh had instructed the jury that  they could not conclude Pang was murdered or committed suicide. If they thought this was possible, they should return an open verdict, he said.

Pang's skeleton was found on the floor next to a bed in the  300 sq ft Yau Ma Tei flat on  October 7, 1999, with the skull in a nearby rubbish bin. Mr Fang had let Pang live there  since 1994.

Yesterday, he said he had phoned his sister Mrs Chan in Britain and 'she is very happy for me'.

He said he had expected an open verdict, but the jury had confirmed the cause of Pang's death.

'I think this is a brave and responsible decision,' he added.

Despite the family's dissatisfaction with the verdict, Pang's elder sister Pang Ngor expressed gratitude to Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung  for seeking an order for the inquest after the coroner's court had initially refused to hold one.

'The inquest allowed us to know a lot more about Annie Pang,' she said, while alleging there had been false testimony and evidence had been tampered with.

Mr Wong, who applied to the High Court in  November for an order to hold the inquest on the grounds of public interest, said: 'Over the three weeks of the hearing, the coroner's court and its jury has  considered all the evidence and given a unanimous verdict. We have nothing to supplement.'

Coroner's officer Dee Crebbin said the jury had concluded the death was an accident, and she believed it was 'most probably an overdose'. She said: 'Hopefully, the Pang family will be happy  and find it satisfactory.'

Before the jury retired, Mr Mackintosh reminded them of possible conclusions he had spelled out the day before.

'If on the balance of probability she died of an overdose of drugs, without an intent to kill herself, your conclusion will be accident or misadventure,' he said, adding that the jury should reach the same conclusion if it believed Pang had choked to death on her own vomit.



Fang jubilant as inquest jury finds model's death was accidental