Ruling the cause of death a suicide after a nine-day inquest, Chow urged authorities to ensure the school reformed its internal management, after 19 recommendations were raised at an independent inquiry held by the school’s management months after the 48-year-old’s death.

The inquiry, which was opened at the request of Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, revealed Lam had been subject to repeated blaming and shaming by Law.

Outside the Coroner’s Court on Friday, Law said she felt “what the judge said was some distance away from the truth”.

Lam, a Chinese-language teacher and librarian, died in the early morning of March 6, 2019. Her death sparked a public outcry, and Law was sacked five months later.

Teacher driven to suicide by principal’s ‘unideal management style and poor working environment’

Teachers testifying at the inquest talked about Law’s patronising attitude towards colleagues throughout her five years in charge. They also said she scolded and humiliated Lam inside the principal’s office on multiple occasions over the latter’s job performance.

One teacher recalled Law openly shaming Lam during teachers’ meetings.

Lam, who joined the school in 1999, was diagnosed with depression in 2009 after she was involved in an altercation with a student.

But according to Lam’s psychiatrist, who last met the teacher on December 17, 2018, although she felt pressured by her workload and difficulties in supervising students, she said she was capable of fulfilling her job duties and declined to take a break.

The trigger for her suicide came in late February the next year, when she was accused of failing to issue a notice to students’ parents about an upcoming learning trip to Macau. Law, however, did not blame two other teachers involved in organising the trip.

In a 40-minute meeting on February 28, Law told Lam in the principal’s office: “Make another blunder again in the future and your retirement savings are gone. Will you consider quitting?”

Hong Kong teacher killed in campus fall ‘did a demanding and misunderstood job’

That statement struck Lam hard, according to a teacher, who recalled a devastated Lam repeatedly saying she feared she would lose her job.

After Lam compiled a report on her mistake on March 5, Law called her to the principal’s office for another round of scolding. A teacher recalled in court that Lam cried “hysterically” after the meeting, before calmly saying she and the headmaster would “perish together”.

Lam left school early that day to file a complaint to TWGH. However, an education services officer at the group, who just took over the job, believed the incident was “not complicated” and told Law about Lam’s complaint.

The officer testified that he was not informed about problems with the school’s governance, nor was he aware of two anonymous complaint letters in 2015 against Law, which were filed to the group before he joined.

In Friday’s verdict, Chow ruled Lam must have taken her life feeling nobody could help her.

“The incident was triggered by [Ms Lam’s] failure to issue a notice for the trip, and that the March 5 meeting led to her mental breakdown. She was pushed over the edge,” Chow said.

“She wanted Madam Law’s career to end together with her career. One can imagine how important the job was to her. Even though Madam Law said she had said those words out of impulse, very unfortunately, she had never retracted her remark.

“[Ms Lam] chose to take her life at the school, as she knew if she fell inside the campus, Madam Law’s career would be doomed. This incident could have been avoided.”

Lam’s life could also have been saved, had her complaint remained confidential, or had either of the two other teachers involved in arranging the trip shouldered responsibility for the mistake, the magistrate added.

Lam’s younger sister, Lam Lai-chu, urged the Education Bureau to consider confiscating the portion in Law’s Mandatory Provident Fund contributed by the government.

Family of teacher who fell to her death at school call for probe to be concluded sooner

“I felt a little sorry for [Law] at first, but not any longer after the nine-day proceedings,” Lam Lai-chu said. “I regret deeply that she is still trying to shirk responsibility.”

The school’s sponsoring body said it would strive to improve the governance of the 14 primary schools under its name in reference to the coroner’s advice and the 19 recommendations made, which included improving the complaints procedure and providing regular training for principals and school directors.

An Education Bureau spokesman said the authority had maintained close contact with the school concerned to provide necessary help and advice, adding it would take appropriate action following the court’s verdict.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on +1 800 273 8255. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page