Hong Kong fireman seeks judicial review over dismissal after suicide bid
Li Chi-sum was accused of misconduct, but he says Fire Services Department did not give him a proper assessment of his mental condition
A Hong Kong firefighter who threatened to kill himself after claiming to have been unfairly treated at work was dismissed without proper assessment of his mental condition, a court heard on Monday.
Fire Services Department staff Li Chi-sum was also stripped of his retirement benefits following his suicide attempt in 2011 when he sat precariously on top of a fire station for six hours, demanding to see the city’s fire chief, barrister Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee told the High Court.
In a legal challenge launched by Li, the court heard that he faced a disciplinary hearing after the incident, which resulted in a total of 10 charges against him and a conviction in 2015.
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Ng said her client had been seeing a psychiatrist before the suicide attempt, and was diagnosed with adjustment disorder at the same time the disciplinary actions commenced.
He was accused of misconduct and substandard performance by the department.
According to civil service guidelines, the barrister said, those with a disability – in Li’s case, his mental condition – should be assessed by a medical board before any disciplinary hearing.
But the barrister said her client’s wishes for a medical assessment were not promptly granted, and he was dismissed in 2015 as a result of the disciplinary action after the hearing.
“The director has acted ultra vires,” Ng, citing a legal term meaning to act outside the law, said of the department’s head, who is the respondent in the current case.