Hong Kong man killed by teenage girls in Canada died ‘a hero’, sister says

“A mother should never have to bury her child. Ken Lee was a beloved son, brother and uncle. He was only 59 years old at the time and his birthday was last week,” she said.

Lee, who was not identified by police until earlier this week, was attacked by the girls outside a downtown shelter for the homeless in Toronto, Ontario, at about 12.15am on December 18 last year.

A crowdfunding page was launched by his sister, Helen Shum, in recent days to raise CA$50,000 (HK$292,000).

Almost CAD$60,000 has donated, much of it from the Chinese community, by Sunday afternoon.

Some messages read: “Rest in peace.” Others wrote: “Hong Kong people support Hong Kong people.”

Shum thanked the donors and added Lee’s mother was “under tremendous emotional stress”, so the funeral would be private and asked the media not to attend.

She said her brother was a “kind soul” who would help anyone in need, whether a close friend or an acquaintance.

But Shum explained that last autumn her brother “was experiencing some bad luck and he left home determined to get his life back on track”.

“We ensured that he knew we were always here for him and were waiting for him to return home,” she said. “He wanted to resolve his issues independently and we understood and respected his wishes.”

Lee’s friend told broadcaster CBC Toronto that the group of girls tried to take a bottle of liquor from her and Lee stepped in, which cost him his life.

The attack happened on the corner of York Street and University Avenue, just steps away from Union Station, a major rail and subway hub.

Doug Johnson Hatlem, a street pastor and spokesman for Sanctuary Toronto, an outreach service for the homeless, told the Post he did not know Lee, but knew people who did and learned he had moved from Hong Kong to the city and that he was working on getting housing.

Johnson Harlem said at a memorial for Lee on January 10 that those who knew Lee said he was a quiet man who defended a friend.

“Nobody was surprised that he would stick up for somebody like that,” Johnson Hatlem told The Canadian Press, a national news agency.

Detective Sergeant Terry Browne of the Toronto Police Service said last month that the teenagers, three 13-year-old girls, three 14-year-old girls, and two 16-year-old girls, had all been charged with second-degree murder because each had “played a role” in the slaying.

“All eight were together. All eight were involved,” Browne said. “I won’t say what each one individually did, but all eight were together and participating in this event, which is disturbing.”

He added the attack was a “swarming” – where a victim is targeted by a group -and that the girls had met on social media.

“We don’t know how or why they met on that evening and why the destination was downtown Toronto,” Browne said.

“We don’t know how long they were acquainted with each other. I wouldn’t describe them as a gang at this point.”

None of the teenagers were named because underage defendants cannot be identified in Canada.

One has been released on bail with conditions and is expected to return to court next week.

Another has a bail hearing on Friday. Five will ask for bail on January 25 and the other on January 27.