Experts call for checks on Mid-Levels trees as baby boy fights for his life

A baby boy whose pregnant mother was killed by a falling tree in Mid-Levels was struggling for survival last night as tree specialists called for a mandatory inspection of private trees and claimed most of those in the area were sick or poorly managed.

It also emerged yesterday that liability could rest with Henderson Land Development as the management company of the property from which the tree fell is a subsidiary of the developer.

Company records show that Martin Lee Ka-shing, younger son of Henderson chairman Lee Shau-kee, is a director of Hang Yick Properties Management.

The company manages Palm Court in Robinson Road where the falling tree killed Zhang Qin, 37, on Thursday.

A source close to the management company said a contractor was hired to take care of the tree regularly and the company had third-party insurance to cover possible claims. But a Hang Yick spokesman refused to comment.

Sombre residents in the area dropped off flowers and cards yesterday afternoon as a crew of tree management officials set to work removing the remains of the fallen Indian rubber tree, believed to have suffered from the infectious brown root rot disease, dubbed "tree cancer".