The Coroner's Court has ordered police to provide a new report on their investigation into the death of a woman who was hit by a train after wandering onto the track at Heng Fa Chuen MTR station in February. The move follows protests to the court by the family of Tao Mui against Coroner William Lam Kui-po's finding that the cause of her death was 'intentional self-harm by jumping or lying before a moving object'. The family wanted to know why the 75-year-old had been left to wander in a tunnel for at least two hours without more being done to find her. Despite triggering a pressure pad alert as she entered the tunnel before 7pm on February 17, being seen on closed-circuit television moving down the track and a report being made by a passenger, no rescue team was sent out until after a driver saw her body beside the track, 200 metres from the station, at about 9pm. Early this month, the family received a letter from the court saying police had been asked to provide a new investigation report. Once the report was submitted, the coroner would decide whether to hold an inquest or if the cause of death should be altered, a judiciary spokesman said. The coroner's finding dealt a blow to the victim's family, who plan to sue the MTR for contributory negligence. 'If she wanted to commit suicide, did she have to take so much trouble to sneak down the rail track so that she could be run over by a train?' asked daughter-in-law Ivy Kwong. 'My mother-in-law was lost in the dark for hours and the MTR never sent anyone down to look for her. How can they get away with that without even a formal inquiry?' Tao, whom Ms Kwong described as a healthy and outgoing woman despite occasional memory lapses, died on the last day of the lunar year, a day for family reunion. Three of her daughters had arrived at her flat in Shau Kei Wan that morning. She told family after lunch that she was going to run an errand and would return home shortly. The MTR said staff looked for Tao on CCTV and also checked the track through a side gate. Drivers were alerted to drive slowly and keep a lookout for anyone on the track. Island Line Commander Lik Wok-hung said police would submit an investigation report to the court after taking into account the content of an autopsy report, which is expected to be ready within two weeks. Inspector Lik said Tao had obviously been hit by a train, although the driver may not have realised it had happened. 'Most of the wounds appeared on the left side of her body. It appears that she was hit on the side and fell onto the track,' he said.
