Hong Kong Police Give Chu Chun-kwok a Highest-Honour Funeral

Chu Chun-kwok, the Hong Kong police officer who spent 21 years paralysed after being attacked on duty, was given the force’s highest-honour funeral on Friday, 23 October 2026. Senior officials, fellow officers and his family gathered at the World Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom to farewell a man whose sacrifice reshaped how Hong Kong police patrol the streets.

Chu died on 16 September 2026 from organ failure, aged 52. He had been bedridden since July 2005, when a routine stop on patrol in Cheung Sha Wan left him with a slashed carotid artery and severe brain damage. The funeral, and the crowds it drew, showed how deeply his story still resonates in Hong Kong more than two decades after the attack.

Chu Chun-kwok’s highest-honour funeral

The funeral began at 10:30 am at the World Funeral Parlour in Hung Hom. Chu’s coffin, draped with the Hong Kong regional flag, was carried by colleagues from his police intake, while his daughter held his uniform portrait, accompanied by her mother.

Among those paying tribute were Chief Executive John Lee, Liaison Office deputy director Luo Yonggang, Chief Secretary Eric Chan, Legislative Council president Starry Lee and Executive Council convenor Regina Ip. Police Commissioner Joe Chow and former commissioners lined up to salute as the coffin was carried out.

At about 11:00 am, the hearse was escorted to Cheung Sha Wan Police Station — the station where Chu had served — for a farewell ceremony. The coffin then arrived at Gallant Garden in Fanling at about 12:30 pm, where Chu was buried with a Chinese marching ceremony and Taoist rites.

The 2005 attack that changed Chu Chun-kwok’s life

In July 2005, Chu was patrolling alone in Cheung Sha Wan when he stopped a suspicious man, Liu Chi-yung. The man pulled a fruit knife and cut Chu’s carotid artery. Despite the wound, Chu kept pursuing the man until he collapsed from blood loss.

Chu survived, but the loss of blood left him with severe brain hypoxia. He never walked again, spending the remaining 21 years of his life paralysed and bedridden before dying of organ failure last month.

The attacker and the sentence

Liu Chi-yung pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was paroled in 2011.

A legacy that changed police patrols

Chu was awarded the Gold Medal for Bravery in 2006, one of Hong Kong’s highest honours for gallantry. But his most lasting legacy may be procedural rather than ceremonial: the attack led the police force to introduce two-officer patrols, known in Cantonese as “孖咇”, so that no officer would patrol alone in the way Chu had been doing that day in 2005.

The change is still in force today, and it is the reason Chu’s name is known to officers who joined the force long after the attack. His funeral was as much a tribute to that legacy as to the man himself.

What the funeral means for Hong Kong

The turnout of Hong Kong’s most senior officials was a measure of how the city regards officers injured in the line of duty. The highest-honour funeral is reserved for officers whose service the force holds up as exemplary, and the flag-draped coffin, the uniformed escort and the presence of the Chief Executive are marks of that regard.

The story also lands at a moment when Hong Kong is paying close attention to public safety and the work of its disciplined services. For readers following the city, the Hong Kong market is tracked on Meyka’s Hong Kong stock screener, alongside the top gainers in Hong Kong and the most active Hong Kong stocks.

What to watch next

The force has said little publicly about further changes to patrol policy, and none is expected as a direct result of the funeral. What is more likely is that Chu’s story will continue to be told to new recruits as the reason two-officer patrols exist — a reminder, built into daily routine, of the cost of a single officer walking a beat alone.

For more Law and Government coverage, read our earlier report on the B.C. election results.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.