Fatal plunge of schoolgirl, 10, probed
Beatrice Siu
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The regional crime squad is probing the mysterious death of a 10-year-old girl whose body was found on the playground of a Kwai Chung primary school.
Police suspect Law Cheuk-kei, a Primary Five student, fell from the fifth- floor stairway of the CCC Kei Chun Primary School in Lai King.
However, investigators are puzzled as to how Cheuk-kei could have fallen from the stairway as she would have had to climb over a 1.2-meter barrier and another 30-centimeter railing.
Police said there were no witnesses and they did not find any note at the scene.
It was learned that the school did not report the death to the police and had, instead, contacted the St John Ambulance, which reported to police.
Vice principal Ko Yuen-wah described Cheuk-kei as a quiet student with a fair academic performance.
Ko said teachers told the students about the incident and letters were sent to parents.
She said lessons had not started when the body of Cheuk-kei was discovered around 7.40am.
Normally, a reading session would have been conducted in the playground at that time but as a "school bus started spewing smoke, we arranged for the students to go to the classroom."
Ko said it was common for the school to call the St John Ambulance, which teaches and practices first aid and provides ambulance services.
Tam Ho-hong, another Primary Five student, said he had known Cheuk-kei for a few years.
They seldom talked but he was upset because "I could not imagine someone I knew for so long falling and dying."
Cheuk-kei lived with her parents, grandparents and a four-year-old younger sister, with whom she is said to have played before going to school.
Her family background was described as "healthy."
