Fatal shootings by police are, thankfully, rare in Hong Kong. Though there is sometimes no alternative to protect the lives of others, including the officer who fires, such deaths rightly come under intense scrutiny. Even so, the 76-day inquest into the killing of a Nepali man, Dil Bahadur Limbu, by Constable Hui Ka-ki on a Ho Man Tin hillside in March last year was unusual. A jury found that Hui did not use excessive force, and returned a verdict of lawful killing. The verdict of the jury must be respected. But the case raised broader questions about police sensitivities to racial and cultural issues. Hui said he felt his life was in danger when Limbu attacked him with chair legs. He had failed to subdue him with his baton and pepper spray after Limbu refused to show his identity card. Hui spoke Cantonese in his requests to Limbu and warnings not to force him to use his firearm.
After such a long hearing the bald verdict of lawful killing, without any recommendations for preventing similar deaths, led to expressions of concern from Human Rights Monitor and ethnic minority groups. The point of an inquest is to establish how a person died and, where necessary, to suggest steps which could be taken to ensure that similar deaths are prevented in the future. It is unfortunate that this inquest left Limbu's widow, Sony Rai, and her supporters feeling she did not get a fair hearing. One issue was the coroner's decision to hold it in Cantonese. Another was the absence of any recommendations relating to police sensitivity in dealing with ethnic minorities.
Co-incidentally, the question of police attitudes was highlighted recently by the case of a Hong Kong-born Pakistani man with five languages, including Cantonese and English, who failed written Chinese requirements in a bid to join the police. Some may say that if a police officer draws a gun on a suspect his meaning should be clearer than any language. But the circumstances of the tragedy should at least cause the police to reflect on how they deal with such incidents in an ethnically diverse city. By making recommendations, the jury could have done a service to the community.
