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Following is a question by the Hon Albert Ho and a written reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, in the Legislative Council today (April 30):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) the following information about the Coroner's Court-
(i) regarding reportable deaths
Cases of reportable deaths Number of cases
2005 2006 2007
Total
The pathologist could not
ascertain the cause of death
The Coroner granted
an autopsy order
The Coroner granted
a waiver of autopsy
The family of the deceased
applied for a waiver of autopsy
The Coroner decided to
investigate the cause of death
An inquest was held into
the cause of death
A non-official applied
for a death inquest
The Secretary for Justice
applied for a death inquest
(ii) regarding non-reportable deaths
Cases of non-reportable deaths Number of cases
2005 2006 2007
The Coroner granted
an autopsy order
The family of the deceased
applied for a waiver of autopsy
An inquest was held into
the cause of death
A non-official applied
for a death inquest
The Secretary for Justice
applied for a death inquest
(b) the factors to be taken into consideration by the Coroner in deciding whether a death inquest should be held and an autopsy order should be granted?
Reply:
Madam President,
The question raised by the Honourable Members relates to the statistics of the cases handled by the Coroner・s Court and the Court・s operation. Having consulted the Judiciary, we now provide the following response :
(a) The information about the Coroner's Court is as follows:
(i) reportable deaths
Cases of reportable Number of cases
deaths
2005 2006 2007
Total 9,506 9,025 9,422
The pathologist could not -- -- --
ascertain the cause of death
(Note)
The Coroner granted
an autopsy order 3,951 3,437 3,793
The Coroner granted
a waiver of autopsy 5,555 5,588 5,629
The family of the
deceased applied for -- -- --
a waiver of autopsy (Note)
The Coroner decided to
investigate the cause
of death 1,351 1,061 767
An inquest was held into
the cause of death 189 210 185
A non-official applied
for a death inquest (Note) -- -- --
The Secretary for Justice
applied for a
death inquest (Note) -- -- --
Note: The Judiciary does not have available statistics on the number of cases where ：the pathologist could not ascertain the cause of death；, ：the family of the deceased applied for a waiver of autopsy；, ：a non-official applied for a death inquest・ or ．the Secretary for Justice applied for a death inquest；.
(ii) non-reportable deaths
Generally speaking, the Coroner・s Court will only handle reportable deaths under section 4 of the Coroners Ordinance (Cap. 504). Therefore, the Judiciary does not have available information on non-reportable deaths.
(b) The decision by a coroner on whether to hold a death inquest or to grant an autopsy order is a judicial decision made under the provisions in section 14 and section 6 of the Coroners Ordinance, having due regard to all the relevant facts of the death concerned. Hence, the factors considered by a coroner in each of his decisions and the statutory provisions on which his decision is based are contingent on the circumstances of each individual case.
Under section 14 of the Coroners Ordinance, the circumstances in which a coroner may hold an inquest are: where a person dies suddenly, by accident or violence, or under suspicious circumstances, or the dead body of a person is found in or brought into Hong Kong. Section 15 of the Ordinance further stipulates that a coroner must hold an inquest into the death of a person in cases ：where a person dies whilst in official custody；. Therefore, the circumstances mentioned above are important factors to be taken into consideration by a coroner in deciding whether to hold an inquest.
An autopsy is ordered mainly to find out the cause of and the circumstances connected with the death. A coroner generally will take into consideration the expert opinions of pathologists, forensic pathologists and medical practitioners, medical history of the deceased, the course of events leading to the death, the initial findings of police investigation and the findings of external examination of the body etc. before deciding whether to order an autopsy to determine the cause of the death.
The abovementioned factors are those generally taken into consideration by a coroner. A coroner・s decision is a judicial decision. The factors considered by a coroner may differ with each case in which he is required to make a judicial decision.
Ends/Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:15
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