Paralysed Hong Kong officer dies after 21-year ordeal
Thestandard · 6 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Former police constable Chu Chun-kwok died on Wednesday after living for 21 years with catastrophic injuries from a knife attack during a patrol in Cheung Sha Wan on July 19, 2005. He was 52 according to multiple reports, after spending more than two decades paralysed and bedridden following severe brain damage caused by blood loss and oxygen deprivation.
New developments after his death include support from police management for burying Chu at Gallant Garden in Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery, a site for public servants who died while carrying out their duties, and a proposal for a funeral with either full police honours or police honours.
Key Points
- Chu was on solo patrol outside the Po On Road Municipal Services Building when he stopped Liu Chi-yung, who then slashed his left neck with a six-inch fruit knife.
- Despite his carotid artery being severed, Chu chased Liu for about 50 metres before collapsing; he was later left quadriplegic, unable to speak or care for himself.
- Liu surrendered at Prince Edward MTR station that afternoon, was jailed for 10 years after a sentence review, and was released on parole in April 2011.
- Chu received combined Chinese-Western treatment in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, while police compensation and subsidies exceeded HK$4.94 million in the first five years after the attack.
- His wife Choi Yin-ping and daughter Michelle remained by his bedside for years, while Chu was awarded the Gold Medal for Bravery in 2006.
Why It Matters
Chu’s death closes one of Hong Kong’s longest-running line-of-duty injury cases, but it also revives attention on officer safety, especially the earlier dispute over solo patrol arrangements that led to civil litigation and a confidential 2016 settlement. The discussion over Gallant Garden burial and police honours shows the force is now deciding how formally to recognise an officer whose injuries were sustained in active service but whose death came two decades later.
Chu’s death closes one of Hong Kong’s longest-running line-of-duty injury cases, but it also revives attention on officer safety, especially the earlier dispute over solo patrol arrangements that led to civil litigation and a confidential 2016 settlement. The discussion over Gallant Garden burial and police honours shows the force is now deciding how formally to recognise an officer whose injuries were sustained in active service but whose death came two decades later.