11th September 2020 – (Hong Kong) The 15-year-old teenage girl, a student from Hong Kong Design Institute, Chan Yin Lam was found dead in the sea in Yow Tong in September last year. The cause of death has been the subject of public speculation.
After the inquest was held on the 11th, the coroner pointed out to the jury this morning (11th) that it is impossible to support the verdict that Chan died of illegal killing or suicide under the standard of reasonable doubt. Therefore, the jury only needs to consider whether the deceased died in an accident or whether the cause of death was in doubt. The jury consisting of 2 men and 3 women took a recess from the court at 1.15 pm to deliberate on a decision.
The coroner pointed out that there was no eyewitness or direct evidence reflecting what happened between Chan’s disappearance and the discovery of her remains. The jury needed to make inferences based on evidence rather than guesses and not to be influenced by past media reports. The coroner stated that there was no evidence that Chan was attacked and died or that heer personal safety had been threatened after participating in anti-extradition activities. The toxicology report also failed to find drugs in Chan’s body, so there was no evidence of her being killed illegally. On the other hand, although there was evidence that Chan suffered from mental disorders during her lifetime, there was no evidence that Chen has suicidal tendencies, so it is impossible to rule that Chan died of suicide under the standard of unreasonable doubt.