On April 20, 1985, Kenneth McBride, 17, and his 18 year-old girlfriend Nicola Myers (both were students at the Island School) did not return home after visiting Choi Sai Woo Park on Braemar Hill at North Point. The next morning, a hiker found their bodies in the tall grass nearby. The scene was grisly. Kenneth had been bound, beaten and strangled, with over 100 bodily injuries. Nicola was found almost naked, her jaw broken and her left eyeball out of its socket. She had been raped and tortured for a long time, with over 500 injuries. The police immediately sent over 600 officers to comb the hill for evidence. After investigating for six months, a source came forward and reported that he overheard a young gangster bragging how had killed a foreigner (and was wearing the foreigner’s shoes). Five suspects were arrested. A statement written by one of them, 16-year-old Won Sam-lung, said they had seen two foreigners on the hill and decided to ‘have some fun’.

In 1987, three of the five accused – Pang Shun-yee, 24, Tam Sze-foon, 20, and Chiu Wai-man, 25 – were sentenced to death. Their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment in 1989. The other two, Won and 17-year-old Cheung Yau-hang, were sentenced to be detained ‘at Her Majesty’s pleasure’ as they were under 18 at the time. Of the five, only Won pleaded guilty. 

A memorial fund in memory of Kenneth McBride and Nicola Myers was set up in 1985 to benefit local students who might otherwise find it difficult to continue their studies in Form 6. Money is raised by Island School's Parents-Teachers Association, by the Island School Student Union, by the Island School's annual fair (half of the proceeds are donated to the fund) and by private donations.

For more information of the fund and donation, please visit the Island School's website: http://www.island.edu.hk/

Tel.: +852 2524 7135