Hong Kong policeman’s arrogance about hiking abilities cost fireman his life in rescue operation, inquest told
- Search and rescue team had to be deployed to locate off-duty police officer and his girlfriend after they became stranded in rainy and foggy weather
The family of a fireman who died trying to rescue a police officer from a hillside in rural Hong Kong have told an inquest that the constable’s arrogance cost Yau Siu-man his life.
Principal firefighter Yau, 50, was deployed to rescue Wun Cho-wing and his girlfriend, Lau So-man, after the pair veered off a hiking trail and became stranded at Tiu Shau Ngam in Ma On Shan on March 21, 2017.
The Coroner’s Court on Monday heard Yau’s siblings and parents-in-law accuse the police officer of arrogance in overestimating his hiking abilities. A search and rescue team had to be deployed to locate the couple in the face of rain and fog.
They were eventually retrieved the next day with only minor injuries, but Yau fell while leading the team to the rescue site. He later died in hospital.
“You should never go hiking again,” Yau’s brother told Wun on the first day of the inquest. “What you did has affected many people, including a boy who has lost his father.”
Wun, part of the New Territories South police tactical unit, offered an apology. He also revealed that he had seen a sign on the slope warning him not to advance but pressed on regardless.