Man who set himself on fire in MTR train was unstable, had tried to kill family, court hears

A man who set fire to himself and parts of a train carriage in a 2017 case that seized headlines was emotionally unstable and at one point had threatened to kill himself and his family in a group suicide, a court heard yesterday.

Victims yesterday testified at an inquiry into the death of Cheung Kam-fai, 61, who started the fire inside a busy train as it traveled under Victoria Harbour between Admiralty and Tsim Sha Tsui stations in February that year.

At least 18 people were injured in the incident, and Cheung — who admitted to starting the fire and was badly burned in the incident — died three months later, in May.

The court heard that about 30 percent of Cheung’s body was covered in second- and third-degree burns, mostly on his face, limbs, and back. Doctors also found a black substance in Cheung’s airways, which is consistent with smoke inhalation.

According to Apple Daily, a total of 17 witnesses will be giving evidence at the inquest, and two other witnesses have submitted written statements. The inquest is being heard by a five-member jury comprising three men and two women.

One passenger, Yip Ka-yan, testified that she recalled hearing Cheung shout something before splashing himself and other passengers with liquid from a bottle that smelled like paint thinner, then lighting himself on fire seconds later.

“The fire then spread really quickly, and the people around him caught fire very quickly,” Yip said. “I saw about three or four people were on fire.”

Yip said her fingers and hair were burned during the fire, and that she had to see a clinical psychologist for two years after the incident.

The court also heard a witness statement from Cheng Chak-yin, who was one of the commuters on the train that evening. He wrote in his statement that he got on the Tsuen Wan-bound train at Admiralty MTR station at about 7pm and recalled it being very crowded.

Shortly after the doors shut, he heard someone yell, “die, you motherf***er!”

Cheng said his clothes caught fire during the incident, and he remembered having to roll on the floor in order to extinguish the flames, and helping a female passenger do the same.

He said he recalled looking up to see Cheung, the lower half of his body in flames, trying to put his hands around another woman’s waist from behind as she sat curled up on the floor, screaming “help me!”

The court also heard testimony from police constable Lai Chun-hee, who said that when he spoke to Cheung on the platform at Tsim Sha Tsui station before he lost consciousness, Cheung had said, “My wife divorced me and Donald Tsang had caused my son’s death,” in a cryptic reference to the former Hong Kong chief executive.

Before passing out, Cheung had admitted to starting the fire and said it was an act of revenge, Lai said.

Also present at the hearing was Cheung’s wife, Wen Weijiao, who told the court that Cheung — the father of their two children — had struggled with mental health issues and a gambling addiction since they got married.

Wen said she and Cheung were married in Shenzhen in 2000, and moved to Hong Kong five years later. They have a son and daughter, now aged 16 and 18.

But shortly after they moved to the SAR, Wen said she noticed Cheung started having problems sleeping and would often talk to himself. Wen said she believed that it was linked to the financial pressure Cheung was under, possibly tied to his gambling addiction. Wen told the court that the financial strain was so bad that the family “didn’t even have money to buy milk powder for our daughter.”

Things came to a head in 2007, when Cheung caused a gas leak in their home while the children were inside. He was arrested shortly afterwards and placed in a psychiatric ward for more than a month.

Wen recalled Cheung had improved after his treatment, but he relapsed in 2015 and was prone to outbursts, often talking about the family dying together.

A few weeks before the MTR fire, Wen had asked Cheung to sign divorce papers, to which he replied, “I’d rather die here before I would sign it.”

When Wen received word from police that her husband was responsible for the train fire, she said, “I never thought he would do that, because he kept talking about how we’d all die together.”