[ad_1]
One of Poon Hiu-wing’s mother’s favorite things was seeing the latest blockbuster with her daughter at the movies, sometimes followed by a visit to clothing stores in trendy districts and hipster dessert places hidden in buildings without lift.
But the mother hasn’t been to a movie theater since the murder of her pregnant daughter in Taiwan two years ago changed her life, shattered her family and froze her concept of time.
“Every day that passes feels like a year,” said the woman, who has been suffering from insomnia, depression and post-traumatic disorder, during an emotional interview on Friday. “I can’t go there anymore … They trigger my emotions.”
Get the latest insights and analysis from our global impact newsletter on great stories originating from China.
Poon Hiu-wing as a child. Photo: Brochure
Poon’s mother is still on medication and has to pay for frequent visits to a clinical psychologist. However, the woman, in her 50s, said she was now ready to defend her “pure and filial” daughter, after her trust in authorities and politicians had so far failed to do justice to her 19-year-old beloved. years.
“I only have one daughter, whom I love most deeply, my most precious daughter. I was left with no option. I have to speak for her. I need to help her get justice, ”said the mother, who prefers to remain anonymous.
Poon was allegedly killed by her boyfriend Chan Tong-kai, then 20, during a trip to Taiwan in February 2018.
Chan immediately fled the autonomous island and, although he ended up serving 19 months in a Hong Kong jail for money laundering offenses for the incident, the city courts were unable to try him for the murder due to lack of jurisdiction. The standoff over the case was cited by city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor when introducing the government’s ill-fated extradition bill, which sparked months of increasingly violent protests last year and was ultimately abandoned.
Without a formal extradition process between Hong Kong and Taiwan, Chan had claimed he would turn himself in when he was released in October last year, but has yet to do so, citing the current coronavirus pandemic and politics as factors. He is currently in a safe house provided by the police.
Since she felt comfortable enough to enter the limelight weeks ago, Poon’s mother’s mission has turned into a campaign for Chan’s surrender, even though it has thus far proven to be a difficult battle. above, as authorities in Taiwan and Hong Kong seem more interested in playing political tough on the case. .
But her bittersweet memories of Poon had kept her soldier on, she recalled, calling her daughter “a pure and filial child.”
“She didn’t know how to protect herself from others, and that’s why they murdered her,” she said.
Murder victim’s mother pleads with Hong Kong, Taiwan to swiftly transfer suspect
Poon used to talk to her about everything, she said, except for birthday surprises. “She always pretended she didn’t remember. And then he would buy us specially designed cakes, ”he recalled, as his face lit up.
Their common interest was traveling, with the middle-class family touring Asia and Australia, he said.
Poon’s favorite destination was Japan – he liked to get the coolest contact lenses and dress in traditional kimonos for photographs.
Poon Hiu-wing poses in a kimono during a family trip to Japan. Photo: Brochure
At his former St Stephen’s College, Poon excelled in academia and won a scholarship. Her teachers praised her for her quick wit and willingness to help others.
If her life had not been tragically cut short, she wanted to start her own business one day, inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of her parents, who run businesses.
However, the mother’s laughter was replaced by tears as she contemplated what her life had been like in the last two years since Poon’s death.
“We think of our daughter every day, especially during the holiday seasons. Our house feels so empty now, ”he said. “Every day we crawl through life, a very tormented life.”
Hong Kong murder suspect, Chan Tong-kai’s voluntary surrender in new doubts
He said he still dreamed of Poon from time to time – that is, when he could fall asleep, usually seeing her lying on a bed or kneeling on the floor.
“His body was so weak. Every time I think about it, it breaks my heart. I feel very sad to see her like this, ”he said.
She said she was also haunted by the months of unrest that her daughter’s death indirectly caused, with the consequences of the extradition bill and the ensuing protests that left Hong Kong as divided as ever.
Police fire tear gas at protesters on Harcourt Road on June 12, 2019. Photo: Sam Tsang
“Throughout the saga, we are a victim and a tiny citizen. It is very unfortunate that your case has become the starting point of a political storm. We were very sad. We couldn’t have seen it coming, ”he said.
Some even blamed their daughter for what happened, but she asked for understanding.
“I understand that my daughter’s case has caused so many negative experiences for others. It saddened me. This is not what I want to see either, ”he said.
One of the most frequent questions the press had of him these days would probably be, “Can you forgive Chan?”
She had already made a public offer to pay for Chan’s transportation and flights to Taiwan as long as he was willing to go, but it was too early to decide if she could ever forgive him, let alone write a letter of mitigation for him in the future. court proceedings, he said.
Poon Hiu-wing when he was young. Photo: Brochure
That would depend on his sincerity if the day came when he appeared in a Taiwanese court, he said.
In fact, their paths had only crossed once, despite everything that had happened.
Poon met Chan during the summer of 2017, he said, when they were working the same summer job. She had only seen him once, when she ran into them in a park, but he didn’t say hello, she remembered. Later, on the way home, she had advised Poon to find someone more “talkative,” though she let her daughter make her own decisions.
She said she doubted she could face him again, but if she did, there was one thing on her mind.
“I really want to know why he had to kill my daughter,” he said.
This article ‘I really want to know why you had to kill my daughter’: speaks of the mother of a Hong Kong woman whose murder sparked the extradition saga first appeared in the South China Morning Post
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post, download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
