HONG KONG: A police constable told the Coroner's Court yesterday that he drew his weapon and fired two fatal bullets at a Nepali man who was attacking him. Hui Ka-ki told the jury his efforts to subdue his assailant failed though he used pepper spray and his police baton to try to stop the attack March 17 in Ho Man Tin.

Hui was giving his account of the death of 30-year-old Dil Bahadur Limbu, who a short time earlier had become the subject of a nuisance complaint by a neighbour.

Hui described the Nepali as between 25 and 30, 5.5 feet tall, wearing jeans and a silver necklace.

Hui and another motorcycle patrol officer took a call from the Hung Hom Console at around 12:43 pm that day.

A woman surnamed Wai had called police to complain that a man of dark-complexion had been frequenting the hillside opposite to her home in Lok Man Sun Chuen and littering the area with garbage.

When Hui arrived at the estate half an hour after the complaint was telephoned to police, he learned from a security guard that a man matching the description given by the complainant had been seen in the area for the previous six months.

The policeman walked up the hill, following Wai's information. He encountered Limbu near a tree hung with many black plastic bags.

Hui asked in English: "Did you have ID card?" Limbu answered "no" and moved away, disregarding Hui's warnings. Then as the constable moved to apprehend the man, Hui told the court Limbu struck him.

"I said 'hey'. He turned round, punched me in the face once and my sunglasses fell off," Hui told Coroner William Ng.

The constable drew his baton and issued a warning in Cantonese, but the Nepalese continued his assault, scratching Hui with his fingers. The attacker did not relent until the policeman shot him with pepper spray, blurring the man's vision. .

"He moved back to the sofa and washed his eyes ... suddenly he took an intact, wooden chair next to the sofa and walked towards me," Hui testified. Then, he told the court Limbu began chasing him.

Hui said that while trying to evade the man by moving behind a tree trunk, he repeatedly asked Limbu to desist. Then, according to Hui's testimony, his attacker smashed the chair on a tree trunk and brandished a broken chair leg at Hui.

"He used the pointed part to attack me. I thought the danger posed to me was elevated ... (So) I drew my revolver and pointed at him as a precautionary measure," Hui said.

The constable will continue to give evidence today. The inquest is scheduled to run for 25 days.

(HK Edition 09/15/2009 page1)