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The Fire Services Department (FSD) will hold an official funeral service with full honours for the late Principal Fireman, Mr Leung Kwok-kei, at the Universal Funeral Parlour, Hung Hom, Kowloon, on December 18 (Thursday).
A customary mourning ceremony open to friends, relatives, government officials, dignitaries of the community, colleagues and members of the public will first be held at 8.30am.
The mourning ceremony will be followed by an official ceremony starting at 9.30am. Senior government officials and the Director of Fire Services, Mr Lai Man-hin, will lay wreaths at the ceremony.
The hearse will leave the Universal Funeral Parlour at about 10am after the official ceremony. A Service Contingent will parade outside the funeral parlour to pay their last respects to Principal Fireman Leung.
The hearse will arrive outside Mei Ying House, Shek Kip Mei Estate, at about 10.20am. An on-site ceremony will be held at Tai Hang Sai Street outside Mei Ying House for local dignitaries and residents of the local district to lay wreaths.
The hearse will then proceed to Mong Kok Fire Station at 181 Tong Mi Road, Kowloon. A Service Contingent will parade in the forecourt of the fire station to pay last tributes to Mr Leung. Local dignitaries will also lay wreaths at the ceremony.
The cortege will then leave for Gallant Garden at Wo Hop Shek Cemetery for the burial service.
The following is a brief biography of Principal Fireman Leung Kwok-kei:
The late Principal Fireman Leung Kwok-kei was born in 1965. Having received his education in Hong Kong, he joined the Fire Services Department as a fireman in 1985. With his meritorious performance, he was promoted to Senior Fireman in 2000, and was awarded the Hong Kong Fire Services Long Service Medal in 2003 and the First Clasp to this Medal in 2010. He was posted to the Mong Kok Fire Station upon his promotion to Principal Fireman in 2011.
Throughout his 29 years of service with the Fire Services Department he fully demonstrated his exceptional operational competence, excellent performance and whole-hearted devotion to duty. His strong commitment to serve, professionalism and leadership qualities were amply displayed in a number of firefighting and rescue operations in which he took part. His remarkable working knowledge, enthusiasm and congeniality also earned him the respect and trust of his colleagues.
When attending a gas leakage incident at Shek Kip Mei Estate on November 22, 2014, Principal Fireman Leung sustained serious head injuries in an explosion and sadly passed away on December 4, 2014. His tragic death is a great loss not only to the Fire Services Department, but also to the community. His bravery and selflessness will no doubt stay in the minds of the people of Hong Kong forever.
Aged 49, Principal Fireman Leung is survived by his wife and a daughter.
Ends/Friday, December 12, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:18
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