Euthanasia advocate wins release from pain

After suffering 16 years of unbearable pain, wheelchair-bound Choi Wan-fung finally got his wish to die last week. Family members said he was in great pain in his final month and had never changed his view that if euthanasia were legal, it would have spared him such a lengthy ordeal.

In his final days Choi, who for several years has been at the centre of a public debate on legalising euthanasia, said: 'When I die ... tell journalists about it.'

A fall down an escalator in 1993 left him in a wheelchair for 16 years, with arms and legs paralysed. He was in so much pain that he 'prayed every day he could kill himself', he told the Post in August. 'Those who oppose euthanasia are stupid,' the 57-year-old said. 'They think they are being humane, but if they had suffered as I have, they would probably be more eager to die than I am.'

After the accident Choi's health continued to decline, leaving him 'without hope of improving', his niece, Kiki Choi Nga-yee, 33, said.

Choi was taken to hospital in November last year because he could not breathe. Fluid had built up in his lungs and intestines and had to be drained through holes opened in his back. As his condition worsened, he declined to have an operation recommended by doctors.

'It would have extended his life but wouldn't make him any happier,' his niece said. 'He signed a document declining to have the operation.' Then he refused, a second time, urgent treatment when his condition suddenly worsened further. Afflicted with immobility, difficulty breathing and slowly rotting skin, Choi knew he was dying, his niece said. He was often racked with pain and relied on painkillers.