Fugitive Says Hospital Escape Was To Help Sick Son

A man who escaped from police custody by crawling through a bathroom ceiling at Queen Mary Hospital last November has pleaded guilty to various charges, relating both to his escape and for using a forged identity card.

He also told the Eastern Court that he committed both the crimes to try and get medical attention for his sick son.

Li Lihua, also known as Leon Li, sparked a brief manhunt in November last year, after he crawled through the ceiling of a bathroom at Queen Mary Hospital to escape from police custody.

The mainlander was recaptured hours later after police traced him to a hotel in Wan Chai.

Li was admitted to the hospital days after he was arrested at the airport on his return to Hong Kong after three years on the run. He'd skipped bail and fled in 2015 after being charged with using a fake ID card.

His lawyer pleaded for a lenient sentencing, telling the magistrate his client is a Cambridge-educated businessman who only wanted to seek medical help for his ailing son.

The court heard that the five-year-old – one of a set of quadruplets – suffers from epilepsy. And Li only came back to Hong Kong in November, again, to try and seek medical treatment for his child.

Magistrate Lee Siu-ho set the next session for February 8 and ordered Li to be remanded in custody.