Protester's Family Has Left HK, Coroner's Court Told

The coroner’s court looking into the death of an anti-government protester was told on Tuesday that his family was absent from the inquest because they had left Hong Kong several weeks after he fell to his death from an Admiralty mall in 2019.

Immigration records presented to court indicated that Marco Leung’s parents and younger sister flew out of the city in August, 2019, to an unknown destination.

They hadn’t returned to the SAR as of last week.

Coroner David Ko also confirmed that the family had not been in touch with him.

But the court was told that they gave statements at a police station two days before departing the territory.

The trio said the 35-year-old was not suicidal, had no mental health issues and did not owe people money, adding that the family had a close and happy relationship.

Leung’s mother added that he rarely discussed news or current affairs with her.

The court was also shown more than 30 photos of Leung’s belongings that an officer had found after his death, including a yellow raincoat with anti-extradition bill slogans written over it, and a notebook in which “lost hope in Hong Kong” was written.

The court will on Wednesday summon a security guard who first saw Leung standing on a construction platform on the fourth floor of Pacific Place, hours before the protester fell to the ground on June 15, 2019.