Exclusive | Details emerge of late Hong Kong pop star Coco Lee’s ambulance ride to hospital as singer’s husband applies for inquest into her death
- Coco Lee was conscious and able to speak as ambulance took her to hospital after suicide attempt on July 2, but fell into coma upon arriving there, insiders say
- Bruce Rockowitz is expected to press for legal proceedings so the circumstances of Lee’s death can be publicly examined
Late Hong Kong pop celebrity Coco Lee was conscious during her final ambulance ride to hospital, the Post learned on Monday, as insiders said her husband would seek a coroner’s inquest into the cause of her death in a bid to dispel rumours.
Two people familiar with the situation said the singer was able to speak as the ambulance took her to hospital after her suicide attempt on July 2, but she fell into a coma when she arrived there.
Doctors on July 5 told Lee’s husband Bruce Rockowitz and her family members that she had died from suffocation, resulting in a lack of oxygen and causing brain damage, the insiders added.
Rockowitz, a Canadian businessman, planned on seeking the inquiry to find out and make public the reasons she died, another insider said.
The singer’s sister, Nancy Lee, declined to comment on the details about the star’s final ambulance ride.
One of the insiders said Rockowitz hoped to find out more about what had happened as Lee rode to hospital in the ambulance, while another said the businessman aimed to dispel rumours that he was to blame for the pop star’s decision to end her life.
Several angry fans from mainland China confronted Rockowitz at the cremation at Cape Collinson Crematorium in Chai Wan on August 1 and called him a “murderer”.
“Queen Mary Hospital told Bruce Rockowitz and the Lee family the cause of death, but the murderer rumours are still spreading around, especially on the mainland,” the second insider explained.
In response to Rockowitz’s push for an inquest, Nancy Lee told the Post the family was awaiting a full autopsy report on the singer’s death.
“When we met the coroner, we requested a full autopsy report on the death of Coco. The report could take four to six months to complete,” she said.
Rockowitz told the Post that he was “very sorrowful” over Lee’s death and he was “even more sad to see fake news and rumours” spreading.
“I know Coco would be appalled by what has been going on with all these lies and fake news. It’s absolutely not what Coco would have wanted,” he said.
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Lee died at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam after she was admitted in the wake of her attempt to take her own life.
Suicide is among 20 types of death listed as reportable to the Coroner’s Court, but that does not guarantee an inquest will be held.
The judiciary said “properly interested persons”, including the family of the deceased, could apply to the Court of First Instance of the High Court for an inquest to be held.
Some lawyers said the coroner would possibly consider if there were any special circumstances that would make an inquest necessary.
“He is the husband and of course he can apply for an inquest into the manner and cause of death of Coco,” barrister Albert Luk Wai-hung said.
“But if it was a suicide, then it was a suicide. Unless there were signs that some medical blunder could be involved.
“But in this case, there seems to be no suspicious circumstances.”
Husband of late Hong Kong star Coco Lee speaks out after singer’s fans confront him
Luk added Lee’s sisters or mother might not want an inquest to protect the privacy of the singer and her family.
“Holding an inquest could mean putting everything under the microscope. Sometimes, to show respect to their beloved one, family members are reluctant to have an inquest,” Luk explained.
Terry Kan Wing-fai, also a barrister, agreed with Luk’s assessment.
“If the husband insists, the coroner would probably heed his request for an inquest,” Kan said. “But I think the husband may need to give a good reason for his application, given there are no suspicious circumstances.”
According to the insiders, Rockowitz was not aware of any life insurance policies taken out by the singer. The pop star only had medical insurance coverage, they said.
They added Coco Lee had previously said that if she died, she would prefer to have her ashes scattered in the Maldives, one of her favourite places. However, similar to the funeral, post-cremation arrangements will not be handled by her husband and are likely to be determined by her family, according to the insiders.
Rockowitz, 64, earlier told the Post that he and Lee had a 20-year relationship before she died at the age of 48.
The couple, who had no children, were married in a glamorous Hong Kong ceremony in 2011.
Lee moved out of the couple’s home in Southern district in October last year and into one of two penthouses at the Four Seasons Place serviced flats in the International Finance Centre in Central.
Lee had breast cancer last year.
A separate source added Lee had leg surgery in February and needed to take medication for her muscles, but the singer did not appear to be suicidal at the time.
Another insider told the Post on Friday that Rockowitz had paid the rent on the penthouse, which cost HK$800,000 a month.
The bill exceeded HK$8 million and he was still paying for the flat, the insider said.
A separate source said Lee was first found to be unwell on June 30 and stayed in hospital overnight. She was discharged on July 1 and moved into her sister Carol’s home on The Peak. She attempted suicide the next day.
Rockowitz flew back from the United States on July 5 to see Lee for the last time in hospital.
He came to Hong Kong in 1979 from Boston when he was 20 and settled down in the city as a tennis pro.
Fans confront late Hong Kong singer Coco Lee’s husband at crematorium
He became a billionaire in 2000 when he and Allan Zeman, the mastermind of the Lan Kwai Fong entertainment precinct in Central, sold the supply chain management venture, Colby Group Holdings, which they co-owned, for HK$2.2 billion to Li & Fung.
Rockowitz is the co-founder of the Pure Group fitness chain and a director of technology consultancy firm Step Digital Group.
Lee shot to global fame in 2001 after she performed “A Love Before Time”, from Ang Lee’s award-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, at the Oscars.
She was the first, and so far only, artist of her ethnicity to perform at the star-studded annual awards event.
Lee was also the first Chinese singer to be signed by Sony Music globally.
