Teen's death by falling tree 'preventable'
The death of a 19-year-old University of Hong Kong student who was hit by a collapsing tree in Stanley in August could have been prevented, a Coroner's Court inquest found yesterday.
In a unanimous decision, the jury found the death of Kitty Chong Chung-yin was an accident. She died after part of a coral tree suddenly fell, inflicting multiple injuries on her.
'The jury has all along felt that this could have been prevented,' the jury's spokesman said.
The Leisure and Cultural Service Department, from management to frontline workers, lacked professional knowledge, the jury said. It recommended an independent body be created to conduct regular risk assessments on trees, with the department being required to inform that body of any problems with trees.
The department should also provide more staff training and update the categories used for risk assessments regularly, the jury said.
A department spokesman said it had commissioned overseas experts to strengthen and speed up inspection of old and valuable trees. It would consult its tree expert group, formed in 2007, on trees with problems or in poor health, he said.
The department had budgeted HK$11 million in 2009-10 to reinforce maintenance of old and valuable trees, he said, which would include more frequent inspections. It was also reviewing staff levels and training of its tree management staff.
Chong's father, Clarence Chong Kin-ki, said the jury was 'very professional, fair and just'. Her sister, Catherine Chong Shiu-yin, said its suggestions were feasible and she hoped the department would learn from them.
The family had not considered whether to pursue a civil suit against the department or seek compensation, Ms Chong said. 'No one can give us back our sister ... Kitty is the one and only Kitty.'
Coroner William Ng Sing-wai expressed his regret for the family's loss. 'This is a loss not only for your family, but for Hong Kong society too.'
After the verdict, Mr Ng revealed he had received a complaint against the department about another dangerous tree and asked the lawyer representing the department to raise the issue with the department.
In a statement last night, leisure and cultural services director Thomas Chow Tat-ming and Acting Secretary for Home Affairs Florence Hui Hiu-fai expressed 'great sorrow over the accident' and offered again their condolences to the family. The Home Affairs Bureau and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department attached great importance to the verdict and would seriously consider the jury's recommendations, the statement said.
Kitty Chong, a business student, was walking on Stanley Main Street on the afternoon on August 27 last year, several days after Severe Tropical Storm Nuri hit the city, when part of the 23-metre tree split and fell on her.
Cheung Yu-sang, a department official who manages 220 old trees, had told the inquest the department had produced six reports on the tree since it was listed in September 2004, even though guidelines called for a report at least twice per year.
The tree had exhibited signs of deterioration for years before its collapse, Jim Chi-yung, a geography professor at the University of Hong Kong, told the inquest.
