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Peter Wong

THE widow of the Korean hostage shot dead during Friday's bloody Aberdeen shootout arrived in the territory last night vowing to sue the police for what she claimed was a botched operation.

  Kang Choi Soon-ju, 31, wept continuously as she arrived at Kai Tak from Seoul with the dead man's brothers, Kang Sang-young, 46, and Kang Sang-in, 35.

  Kang Sang-bo died early on Friday during a shootout between police and gunman Cheung Cho-yau, 23, in Aberdeen.

  But it remains unclear whether Cheung or the police fired the shots that killed Kang, a 31-year-old computer engineer, as they stormed the taxi the gunman had hijacked in Central.

  Speaking on behalf of his sister-in-law, Kang Sang-young said she could not understand how her husband had been killed.

  'The police must have made an error of judgment. They did not follow proper procedures for dealing with a hostage situation. We don't understand why the police had to start shooting,' he said.

  'This would not have happened in Korea. We want to see the police report. We also want compensation for the loss of our brother.'  The drama began when Cheung pulled a gun in Tsim Sha Tsui at 11 pm on Thursday, pistol whipped a girl who had spurned his advances and shot at plain clothes policemen who tried to intervene.

  The gunman then travelled to Central where he took a constable's revolver, ammunition and radio at gun point before hijacking the taxi carrying Kang and taking a passing woman hostage.

  It ended at 12.45 am on Friday in Shum Wan Road with the deaths of Cheung and Kang when the taxi was trapped in a road block. Police confirmed yesterday that they fired 13 rounds during the exchange.

  Officers have already launched two parallel investigations into the deaths, one for the coroner's inquest and another for the internal police probe. Evidence from the latter could lead to prosecutions if wrongdoing is proved.

  Involving more than 30 detectives, both inquiries are led by Senior Superintendent Trevor Oakes, himself a shootout victim two years ago.

  'We are basically questioning carefully and closely all officers and other witnesses to find out what happened,' he said yesterday.

  'This will be a long process. A lot of points need clarifying and questioning.'   Superintendent Oakes, shot in the shoulder during a gunbattle with armed robbers in Kowloon, said they were waiting for reports from government chemists, pathologists and police ballistics experts which could take two weeks to complete.

  Chairman of the Legislative Council's Security Council, Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee, told members yesterday that the Commissioner of Police Eddie Hui Kei-on, would brief them on the shootings and the progress  of investigations.

  No date  had been set, but Mrs Chow said she was in contact with Mr Hui and had already discussed the matter with him.

  The police handling  of the s hootout was also questioned by the dead  hostage's work colleagues, according to Chong Myong-han, general manager of Korea Computer Corporation which employed Kang.

  'Since there were three hostages in the car, the police should have followed a proper and careful procedure,' Mr Chong said.

  'Why did they start shooting before trying to persuade the gunman to surrender?  Wasn't there anyone there to give order?'    The police action, and their guidelines for hostage incidents, was given the full support of teh Secretary for Security, Alistair Asprey, yesterday.

   Asked whether the deaths and injuries suffered were acceptable to his administration and, if not, when the guidelines would be reviewed, he said: 'No incident involving innocent bystanders being shot and killed or injured is acceptable but I do  not think it makes the conclusion [that guidelines] could be flawed.'   In a direct response to the use of force, taxi groups are seeking reassurance from Mr Hui that their members will be looked after in anyfuture hostage situations.

  They are also worried about compensation for damaged vehicles and dead or injured drivers who get caught in crossfire.

  'It is not uncommon for robbers to hijack our cars, or for them to be used by police in emergencies,' said Taxi Association Federation chairman Ng Kwok-hung.

  'We need the Police Commissioner to state clearly what the compensation policy is .. and we also want to know what really happened during this incident.'   Meanwhile, relatives and colleagues yesterday visited two of the injured officers -- Constable Au Cheuk-yan, 35, a 15-year force veteran, and Senior Inspector Cheung Chiu-ping, who is in his 30s -- at Queen Mary Hospital. Both are in fair condition.

  The third officer hurt in the incident, Constable Leung Kam-hung, 20, was released yesterday after treatment to a sprained ankle.

THE Aberdeen shootout was the latest in series of gunfights between police and criminals that have claimed the lives of five by-standers and injured another 25 since 1990.

  May 24, 1994: A pedestrain was killed by a runaway van in Tan Kwai village, near Yuen Long, after police shot dead the driver, a suspected burglar.

  May 18, 1994: A young woman was shot dead and two other shoppers wounded during a shoot-out between jewellery store robbers and police in the Landmark, Central.

  October 15,1 993: Police wounded an Urban Services officer in the leg when they shot a suspect and the bullet passed through his abdomen before hitting the bystander.

  September 11, 1993: A 54-year-old woman was wounded when police fired on a drug addict in Pan Chung village, near Tai Po.

  September 9, 1993: Three pedestrains were wounded during a shoot- out in Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, after a bank raid.

  January 6, 1993: Nurse Fung Wai-lin, 38, was shot dead as police and robbers exchanged fire in Nathan Road, Mongkok, after a jewellery store hold-up   December 2, 1992: An American tourist and  her Hong Kong resident daughter were injured when police fired on their taxi after it was hijacked by jewellery store robbers in To Kwa Wan.

  April 24, 1992: A wild grenade and gun battle between robbers and police in Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, left 12 pedestrains injured with bullet and shrapnel wounds.

  March 7, 1992: Jewellery shop robbers wounded two store assistants during a shootout in Hunghom.

  December 18, 1990: A 42-year-old woman was wounded in the leg by a police bullet as police exchanged fire with a bank robber in Hunghom.

  August 28, 1990: Electronic technician Won Kwok-shing, 27, was killed by a ricocheting police bullet as officers tried to apprehend three armed robbers in Queen's Road, Central   March 20, 1990: Immigration assistant Ng Hung-shek, 27, was shot dead and two pedestrains wounded during a shootout in Jordan Road between police and four robbers.



Shootout widow vows to sue police over death