Cause of death of Hong Kong teen found at sea unclear, but drowning a possibility, experts testify

Forensic pathologists who performed an autopsy on a 15-year-old girl found dead at sea last year said they could not determine how the teen died, but acknowledged the “distinct possibility” she might have drowned herself, an inquest heard on Tuesday.

The medical findings surfaced on the seventh day of an 11-day inquest into the death of Chan Yin-lam, whose body was found in the waters off Tseung Kwan O on September 22, three days after she was last seen by friends and caught on security cameras. Whether Chan, a self-taught diver, took her own life by jumping into the sea remains unclear.

Government doctor Garrick Li Yuk-wah, one of the two pathologists who carried out the autopsy, testified on Tuesday that the suggestion Chan died of drowning was based on the lack of apparent fatal injuries on the body, as well as signs that indicated she passed away within one day of her disappearance.

Despite the suggestion, the doctor said it was unlikely for someone who could swim, like Chan, to commit suicide by jumping into the water. Responding to a question from Magistrate Ko Wai-hung, Li said: “According to our observations, it was uncommon.”

At the autopsy performed by Li and his senior, Lai Sai-chak, the body was found to exhibit a moderate level of decomposition, the court was told. Li said that indicated Chan might have died within 24 hours of her last appearance on September 19.