The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE widow of Chinese restaurant employee Wing Hong Chan said her husband was already being “worked on” by the time she arrived at Doctor’s Hospital following his shooting.

Susie “Sim Kam” Chan, told a Supreme Court jury yesterday that a little more than 24 hours after her husband was being treated, she had to go and identify his body at the Princess Margaret Hospital morgue.

Yamacraw Beach resident 19-year-old Cleophas Clarke sat in the prisoner’s dock as Mrs Chan gave her evidence.

Clarke faces a charge of murder and armed robbery, which he denies.

He is accused of killing Chan outside his home on Village Road on January 22, 2012 and robbing him of a Samsung Galaxy SII worth $700.

Mr Chan worked at the VIP Chinese restaurant and was related to one of its owners. He died a short time after the shooting at Doctor’s Hospital.

In yesterday’s proceedings, lead prosecutor Anthony Delaney asked the witness how she knew the deceased, Raymond Chan.

“That was my husband,” she said.

“Is he known by any other name?” the prosecutor asked.

“His Chinese name is Wing Hong Chan,” Mrs Chan answered.

“Do you know where he is now?” the prosecutor asked.

“He’s been buried at Lakeview Memorial,” she said.

“When was the last time you saw your husband alive?” Mr Delaney asked.

“On January 21, the Saturday midnight at the Chinese celebration for the New Year,” the widow said, adding that the celebration was at her restaurant, VIP Express on East Bay Street.

“He was there with everyone enjoying the meal. He was talking to the kids and taking pictures of the food we were going to have,” Mrs Chan said.

“What, if anything, happened after that?” the prosecutor asked.

“After that, he decided to spend some time with the workers. Me and the kids went home,” she said.

After being shown photographs of the compound to which her husband went — a compound with which she said she was familiar – Mrs Chan continued her testimony.

She said one of the workers was banging on the door and relayed certain information to her about her husband.

“I said take him to the hospital immediately, don’t wait for the ambulance,” she said.

She arrived at the hospital not long after, but he was already being treated for his injuries.

Mrs Chan said she was asked to go to identify his body at the Princess Margaret Hospital laboratory the following day.

Defending attorney Gregory Hilton did not cross-examine the witness.

The trial resumes today at 10am before Justice Bernard Turner.