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Thomas Chan

A six-year-old mainland boy fell to his death after taking a lift alone to the 27th floor of a building in a public housing estate on his first visit to the city last July, an inquest heard yesterday.
Huang Meili, the mother of Yang Ting, told the Coroner's Court that her son - who was born in Huiyang , Guangdong, in 2005 - had never taken the lift before.
She accused the security guards at King Ling House in Shan King Estate, Tuen Mun, of not helping her as she searched desperately for her son.
Yesterday, the court heard that Huang visited Hong Kong last July with Yang and her cousin, Huang Huihui. The three stayed at her uncle's flat at King Ling House.
On July 21, the mother returned to the building at 12.38pm after shopping with her son, cousin and nephew, the court heard.
Closed-circuit television footage screened in court showed Yang entering the building and running straight into the lift alone. Huang entered the building about 15 seconds later but could not locate her son.
Meanwhile, on the CCTV footage, Yang appeared anxious and terrified in the elevator.
The young boy jumped repeatedly, pressing the lift buttons and hitting the lift door with both hands.
"I asked the security guard to help us look for him," said Huang, who was not represented by a lawyer in court. "She told me to look for him myself."
The mother added that the estate's security guards were also reluctant to call the police despite her repeated requests.
The boy was later found dead on a canopy on the second floor by his aunt who had searched the building twice.
But security guard Liu Fung-ling gave a different account of the incident.
She said that when Huang approached her for help, she could not see Yang on the CCTV monitors on her desk at the lobby.
When the mother told her about the missing boy, she immediately reported the matter to her colleagues in the control room, she said.
The colleagues then instructed another security guard to search each floor of the building, she added.
"Reporting incidents back to the control room is a standard procedure," said Liu, who has worked for 10 years as a security guard. "I did not refuse to help her find the boy or call the police."
The court heard that the public housing estate was managed by Synergis Management Services.
The three-day inquest continues today before Coroner June Cheung Tin-ngan and a five-member jury.
Police officers who investigated Yang's death will take the stand.


Boy, 6, fell to his death after 'taking lift alone for first time'

King Lai House, the scene of the tragedy. Photo: SCMP 

News

Hong Kong

Mainlander whose six-year-old son died after running into housing-estate elevator alone says security guards refused to help look for him


A six-year-old mainland boy fell to his death after taking a lift alone to the 27th floor of a building in a public housing estate on his first visit to the city last July, an inquest heard yesterday.


Boy, 6, fell to his death after 'taking lift alone for first time'

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mainlander whose six-year-old son died after running into housing-estate elevator alone says security guards refused to help look for him

Mainlander whose six-year-old son died after running into housing-estate elevator alone says security guards refused to help look for him