No closure for dad in open chow verdict

The father of University of Science and Technology student Chow Tsz-lok vowed to keep looking for the truth behind his son's death after a jury on Saturday reached an open verdict over the case.

The verdict of 4-1 was returned by two male and three female jurors who deliberated for 17 hours behind closed doors from Friday to Saturday.

Coroner Ko Wai-hung guided them with three ruling options - unlawful killing, accident or open verdict. In choosing an open verdict, the jury determined that the evidence was not sufficient for any other finding to be made.

Chow, 22, plunged from Sheung Tak Estate car park in Tseung Kwan O on November 4, 2019, and died of head injuries in Queen Elizabeth Hospital four days later.

His fall, which happened while police clashed with anti-government protesters near the car park, had sparked rumors and intensified the social unrest.

Ko said: "I think we are close to the truth. Although if the security cameras had been five degrees higher, or revolved two seconds slower, the truth might have been clearer."

He told the parents: "Support each other, don't restrain yourself or suffer in silence when you feel unhappy or need to talk."

Speaking outside the court, Chow's father, Chow Tak-ming, said he respected the ruling and appreciated jurors' efforts, despite still having doubts about the case details.

"I want to tell my son that we have tried our best. Like the coroner said, we are close to the truth," the teary-eyed father said. "I hope the truth will surface in my remaining years. It doesn't have to be a murder, an accident will do as long as we have no doubts."

He said he was quite tired and needed some rest, adding his only goal in the past two months was to try his best to find the truth.

During the 29-day inquest, a government expert had suggested that the student had accidentally stepped out of the parapet wall on the car park's third floor, thinking he could reach a pavement behind it but falling off instead - a theory Chow's family has challenged as "bold assumption."