A grieving Sony Rai protested at the entrance of the Eastern Court along with the Nepalese Federation chairman Hem Limbu, claiming the proceedings lacked impartiality. [break]
"I will be boycotting future proceedings in protest. I believe both the police investigation and the coroner´s proceedings have been biased and unfair against me and my late husband," Rai said.
She said when she arrived in Hong Kong following her husband Dil Bahadur Limbu´s killing, she wanted to understand the circumstances surrounding his death to help prevent a similar tragedy happening to other families.
"Instead, I have been met with official obstruction, attempts to blacken my husband´s name, bias and general hostility during the process," Rai said.
She claimed the process began right after her Hong Kong-born husband, 31, was shot dead by a police officer responding to a complaint in Ho Man Tin on March 17 last year, as the police focused their energy on looking for witnesses to smear her husband´s name.
"I cannot help but wonder if the reason for all this is because I am an outsider and because my husband was shot by a police officer," Rai said.
Along with about 20 Nepalis, Rai had been attending the hearings since they began last September. The inquest was scheduled for 22 days but has been adjourned several times.
She felt like she was on trial, Rai said, but thanked Hongkongers who have shown support to her and her daughter.
Police constable Hui Ka-ki, who shot Limbu in the head, told the Coroner´s Court he had no option but to open fire when the homeless man attacked him with a wooden chair leg.
Hui claimed he drew his gun only when he failed to subdue Limbu with his baton and pepper spray after the man had punched and hit him with a chair leg. The first shot missed, but the second hit Limbu in the head.
The inquest continues before coroner William Ng Sing-wai.
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