HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – A Hong Kong student who suffered a brain injury after falling at a parking garage near a protest earlier this week has died, the city’s Hospital Authority said. 

Mr Chow Tsz Lok fell early on Monday as police carried out a dispersal operation nearby using tear gas.

A spokesman for the Hospital Authority confirmed on Friday (Nov 8) that he was certified dead at 8.09am.

Mr Chow, 22, was a second-year computer science undergraduate at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said South China Morning Post newspaper, which reported the death earlier on Friday.

University president Wei Shyy briefly paused the school’s graduation ceremony to announce Mr Chow’s death and observe a moment of silence.

Mr Chow fell from the third floor to the second floor of a parking garage in the Tseung Kwan O neighbourhood while police worked nearby to disperse protesters.

The death could reinvigorate protests as Hong Kong braces for a weekend of rallies that had been planned in areas across the city, beginning on Friday.

It comes amid weeks of violence that left a controversial politician stabbed while campaigning, and raised concerns about whether the city will be able to hold upcoming district council elections.

The lawmaker, Mr Junius Ho – known for his inflammatory comments against protesters and pro-democracy politicians – suffered only minor injuries. 

On Thursday, the government’s Electoral Affairs Commission issued an appeal for the “public to keep calm and return to rationality” ahead of the vote, currently scheduled for Nov 24.

“The community is also urged to stop all threats and violence to support the holding of election in a peaceful and orderly manner,” it said.

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