Dead Teenager Had A Troubled Life, Inquest Told

The mother of a teenage girl whose body was found in waters off Yau Tong last September told a coroner's inquest that her daughter had had a troubled life and had attempted suicide.

The police have classified the death of 15-year-old Chan Yin-lam as suicide. But some have raised questions about the case which occurred at the height of the anti-extradition protests. The Hong Kong Design Institute student was believed to have been involved with the demonstrations.

Testifying at the inquest at its opening on Monday, Chan's mother was emotional and broke down in tears several times.

The 34-year-old woman, surnamed Ho, recalled her daughter's upbringing. She said Chan was born in 2004 out of wedlock and had lived with her and her boyfriend, and later with her grandfather.

She described her relationship with her daughter as "like sisters".

Ho also said Chan had become rebellious since she started secondary school, and had been sent to a girls' home several times.

The mother went on to say Chan had begun to display "strange behaviour" last year.

In March 2019, during a spell at a girls' home, she put her head in a plastic bag and was sent to hospital.

Ho said she learnt from Chan's text messages that her daughter did that because she didn't want to stay at the girls' home.

In August, after Chan was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer and taken to a police station, Ho saw her there and said she was talking to herself and walking around aimlessly.

The court sent the teenager to a girls' home, where she banged her head against the wall and was taken to hospital.

Ho said at the hospital, Chan was screaming, crying and scolding police officers, and was hearing voices.

Ho said medics didn't think the teenager had any mental issues, and thought she was being rebellious.

The mother said in mid-September, just days before her death, Chan appeared to be much calmer and well-behaved after she was released on bail. Ho said the family celebrated Mid-Autumn festival and her birthday without incident.

Ho then said the girl stopped responding to her messages on September 19, and the MTR notified her that they found her daughter's phone and paint brushes at a station.

Ho, who was in South Korea at the time, made a police report about Chan's disappearance two days later after she returned to Hong Kong.

Ho said the girl had not gone to school or to a scheduled court hearing on September 20.

The police informed her of her daughter's death on September 26.

Chan's grandfather, who also testified on Monday, said she complained about hearing voices affecting her sleep on the eve of her disappearance.

The 71-year-old told the inquest his granddaughter appeared "dull" on the evening of September 18, and that she spent the night packing her room.

The inquest, with a jury of five, is expected to last 11 days and 30 witnesses will testify.