The parents of a dancer who was crushed by a video monitor while performing in Hong Kong last week were granted an exemption from the country’s COVID-19 protocols upon arriving from Toronto.
Derek Li, a senior pastor at Toronto’s Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church since 2018, and his wife spent about an hour at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Monday afternoon after being permitted to leave their quarantine hotel on compassionate grounds.
They had arrived in Hong Kong early Sunday morning on a Cathay Pacific flight from Toronto and later tested negative for COVID-19.
Their son Mo Lee Kai-yin was directly under a 500-kilogram screen when it fell to the stage Thursday during a performance by boy band Mirror at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
He was rushed to hospital, where he underwent emergency surgeries for a fractured cervical vertebrae and bleeding in the brain. The 27-year-old, who also worked as a dance teacher, was listed in critical but stable condition. According to reports, he may be paralyzed from the neck down.
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Another dancer, Chang Tsz-fung, 29, suffered injuries to his head and pelvis when the screen toppled over onto him after it hit the stage. He was transferred Friday from Queen Elizabeth Hospital to CUHK Medical Centre for treatment.
His wife, Catherine Lui, said in a message shared on Facebook that he had tried to help Mo Lee. “He ran forward and tried to help when he saw it happen,” she said. “He tried to hold the screen, but it was too heavy and he fell under the screen.”
A third dancer, Zisac Law Tak-chi, suffered minor injuries.
None of the members of Mirror have commented publicly on the accident, which is currently under investigation by multiple agencies.
In a joint statement, 23 dancers involved in the show called on fans to stop criticizing Mirror member Anson Lo for continuing to sing after the screen fell.
“The 12 members of Mirror have worked hard with us and we are currently going through this difficult time together,” read the dancers’ statement. “Please do not put the blame on any of the performers at the concert."