The family of a man killed in an alleged “swarming” attack by eight teenage girls in Toronto last month is speaking out for the first time since his death.
With the pain of his loss still raw, a statement sent on behalf of the family says they are not ready to open up in depth about their loved one, Ken Lee, but are raising concerns about what they consider “flaws” in the Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act.
“Just note that Ken was a kind soul with a heart of gold. He was not in the system due to alcohol or drug abuse. He was a man with pride who had fallen and wanted to learn to stand up on his own knowing that he always had his family behind him,” says the statement by Lee’s brother-in-law, Eric Shum.
Lee, 59, was pronounced dead in hospital after he was allegedly beaten and stabbed by a group of girls outside a downtown shelter in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, 2022. The attack began after the girls allegedly took a liquor bottle from the victim and his friend, a witness previously told CBC Toronto.
Ken Lee, 59, identified as victim of alleged ‘swarming’ attack by teen girls in Toronto
That witness, a friend of Lee’s whom CBC Toronto has agreed not to name because she belongs to a vulnerable community, said she was smoking a cigarette with Lee outside a downtown shelter early that day, when the group of teens approached them and attempted to take her alcohol.
Lee, she said, told the girls to leave the two of them alone.
“He protected me,” she said.
Source : CBC
