Zhou Ziluo’s death inquest: judge proposes three options: “unlawfully killed”, “accidental” and “doubtful verdict”.
The inquest into the death of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology student Chow Tze Lok entered its 28th day, with Coroner Ko Wai-hung continuing to guide the jury on Friday morning (8). After reviewing all the evidence, he concluded that the jury could consider the options of verdict, including unlawful killing, death by accident or doubtful verdict. The jury retired after more than six hours of deliberation without a result, and will wait until 9:30 a.m. the next day for another trial. (By Lee Chi Chi)
A number of maps and models of the parking garage at the time of the incident were displayed in court on Friday. The judge said that according to all the medical evidence, Zhou Ziluo died of “head injuries” and “there is no evidence or testimony that the police used tear gas, cloth bags or rubber bullets to cause Zhou Ziluo’s injuries,” but the location and time of the injuries were left to the jury’s discretion.
The jury was asked to consider the option of “unlawful killing” after reviewing all the footage, but it had to be based on the circumstances of the injury. He said that, based on all the medical evidence, the conditions for unlawful killing were that Ziluo’s head was fixed on a flat surface, he was attacked with a large object, such as a mud brick, on the right side of his head, and he was then thrown from the third floor parking lot to the second floor parking lot, and it so happened that the point where his head was attacked and the point where he fell to the ground were the same.
However, he stressed that the jury needs to decide beyond reasonable doubt, including whether the man who walked up to the third floor was Zhou Ziluo, according to the parking lot CCTV images, the man walked up the ramp, in the parking lot CCTV footage disappeared 8 seconds after Zhou Ziluo fell to the ground, “what happened in the 8 seconds between”. He also said that if you follow the idea, “at that time, Zhou Ziluo is in a state of unconsciousness, to cooperate to make things happen, otherwise it is difficult to do so many things in 8 seconds.
However, the senior official also said, according to the evidence of the third floor parking lot without blood stains, in the “illegally killed” speculation, “who cleaned up the blood stains? How he threw the tall Ziluo from the third floor down to the second floor, and then budgeted the time and place of Ziluo’s arrival, and calculate the CCTV video not to leave the scene?
If the jury is unable to make a decision on “unlawful killing” without reasonable doubt, they may consider whether it was an “accident”, i.e., that Ziluo mistook the third floor platform for a footpath and fell after stepping over a low wall”, the senior official said.
If, after considering all the evidence, a verdict of “unlawful killing” or “accidental” cannot be reached, a “doubtful verdict” may be considered. If the jury agrees that Zhou Ziluo fell from the third floor to the second floor, but is completely unaware of the cause of the fall, then the cause of death can be ruled doubtful. But the senior official stressed that this is “an undesirable result”, is no way to draw a conclusion.
The senior official mentioned that there is no evidence that the scene was contaminated by tear gas smoke, the firefighters on that day is also more difficult to anticipate the situation in Tseung Kwan O blocked roads, that the fire measures taken at the time may be sufficient, reminded the jurors to make recommendations must be practical and feasible, not just pointing out that a body did not do enough.
Senior officials suggested that jurors first deliberate unlawfully killed, then consider death by accident, such as failure to reach a verdict of death by accident, only then need to consider the cause of death is doubtful. Jurors should not assume a position first, and it is entirely up to the jurors to decide what testimony to give.
But the jury retired at 10:14 a.m. on Friday morning to deliberate without results, to be heard again the next morning at 9:30 a.m. The jury needs to stay overnight in the High Court lounge. During that time, the media is not allowed to film any information related to the jury.
Chow Chi Lok was found lying on the second floor of the Suntech parking lot in Tseung Kwan O on November 4, 2019, and died on November 8 at the age of 22. After more than a year, the Coroner’s Court was formally convened on November 16, 2020.
The inquest lasted one and a half months, and the father of Zhou Zile was summoned to testify, as were the riot police officers on duty, the doctor who treated Zhou Zile, the volunteer EMTs, the public who witnessed the incident and the forensic pathologist. 73 witnesses, a total of 48 witnesses testified in court, 25 witnesses testified in writing, and 142 documentary evidence was presented in court. The court played the CCTV footage from the parking lot to try to piece together the whereabouts of Zhou Ziluo that night.
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