Hawker, 75, dies during squad raid

POLICE are looking for witnesses to an incident in which a 75-year-old hawker died, apparently of a heart attack, in an Urban Services anti-illegal hawking operation in To Kwa Wan last night.

Hau Kam-yeung was found unconscious in Yuk Shing Street at about 5.30 pm after the operation by a General Duties Squad (GDS) team and was later certified dead before arriving at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The victim's 67-year-old wife said her husband had been receiving treatment for a heart disorder for several years.

Hau held an itinerant hawking licence, which allowed him to operate within designated markets, but was seen selling ginger and garlic with his wife at Hung Fook Street, where hawking was prohibited.

Witnesses said Hau vigorously resisted arrest by three squad members. He slipped and banged his head against a wooden box in the struggle.

A GDS supervisor later told police that Hau had hurt his head after falling over some obstacles during a brief chase.