Hong Kong man who torched MTR train in 2017 was unstable and tried to kill family, Coroner’s Court inquest hears
- ‘I thought he wanted us to die with him,’ says wife of Cheung Kam-fai, who injured 18 people when he set fire to train – and himself
- Witnesses recount how carriage became an inferno as Cheung shouted and splashed flammable liquid
A Hong Kong man who set fire to a MTR train in 2017 was emotionally unstable and had threatened to kill himself and his family in a group suicide, an inquest heard on Monday.
Victims giving testimony at the inquiry into the death of Cheung Kam-fai recounted how the train carriage turned into an inferno shortly before it reached the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station on February 10, 2017.
Several witnesses said in the moment before the blaze, a man shouted angry words as he splashed liquid from a bottle that smelled like paint thinner.
Another victim Cheng Chak-yin, who had to roll on the floor to extinguish the flames on his clothing, handed the court a witness statement. He said the man tried to cuddle with a woman who had curled up on the floor. In specific terms, the man put his hands around the woman’s waist from behind and rested his head against hers.
