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Sammy Heung

A tourist has said a fall at a Hong Kong trampoline park left her needing to have a kidney removed, with a lawmaker urging authorities to launch an investigation into the incident and regulate such venues.
The woman, a mother of two who only identified herself as Lee, said on Tuesday that her right kidney was “shattered” and her life “was at stake” after she fell and struck the edge of a foam pool while visiting Ryze Ultimate Trampoline Park on June 7 of last year.
She accused the operator of the venue in Quarry Bay of failing to install sufficient protective padding and neglecting customer safety.
Lee, who is in her forties and asked not to disclose her country of origin, said she visited the park with her family on the second day of their trip to the city.
She said she and one of her daughters, who was six at the time, were playing in the park’s “Ninja Obstacle Course” when Lee tried to cross a hanging bridge.
“But I was not able to reach the other side before falling into the pool of foam. My abdomen hit the edge of the pool covered by pads,” she said.
“Doctors found that there was a large amount of internal bleeding in my body … The doctor told my husband to be mentally prepared as there was a 20 per cent chance that I might die.
“The doctor said he had never seen someone with such a severe injury in 10 years and what he retrieved from my body was pieces of my kidney.”
Lee also presented a letter from Queen Mary Hospital as proof that she had undergone a nephrectomy, an operation to remove an entire kidney.

Lee said she and her husband after the accident had sought help from police, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau but were told that the trampoline park did not fall under any of their purviews.
Lawmaker Edward Leung Hei of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said trampoline parks were not regulated by any existing laws.
He urged the government to include such venues under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance and the Pleasure Grounds Regulation.
The two laws had not been reviewed for more than 20 years despite many new activities and extreme sports emerging since then, the legislator said.
The Hospital Authority had also told him that there were about 80 cases of permanent damage each year as a result of injuries linked to trampolining on average, he added.
Leung said he knew of another case where the victim had become paralysed after falling on their neck and head while trampolining.
“The relevant government departments previously said they did not intend to regulate trampoline parks as it is not a professional sport,” he said.
“They said they only regulate professional sports, but not human activities, and will further study such needs based on the actual situation.
“We hope that they will regulate such activities as soon as possible and put the relevant legislation on the agenda with higher priority.”
In a reply to the Post, Ryze expressed sympathy to Lee.
“At Ryze, the health and safety of our guests is of paramount importance. We are committed to continually reviewing and enhancing our safety protocols to ensure the highest standards are met,” its spokesman said.
“As this is an active legal matter, we are not able to share further details.”
The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said the government would continue to monitor the situation at various premises and consider whether further regulation was needed based on the nature of the sites and their mode of operations.
Ryze Hong Kong earlier pledged to improve their protocols and implement enhanced safety measures to minimise injuries after a 17-year-old teen suffered a head injury in a collision with a 14-year-old boy while jumping on the same trampoline in August of last year.
Lee said on Tuesday said her husband had discovered the safety pad she fell on was “seriously worn out”, adding she had never received any apology from the park.
“It was like there were no safety pads at all and there were not any protective effects,” she said. “Basically it was like I was hit by a table or even something with a sharper edge.”
Lee said she had stayed in hospital for nine nights after her operation, before needing another three months to fully recover from her injury and then undergoing check-ups every six months.
Her husband said he had stopped liaising with the company after it threatened to take legal action against him for causing their guests to “fear about their personal safety” during his visit there a few days after the incident.
The couple had decided not to launch a civil action, he said, adding that they were finding other affected customers to start a class-action lawsuit to get the government’s attention and they themselves would help cover the cost.
“So what if we win the lawsuit and get some cash compensation when this place continues to operate and threatens the safety of Hongkongers and tourists,” he said.
Her husband, who is also a Hong Kong permanent resident and previously worked in the city for 10 years, said that while the incident would not affect his feelings towards the place, the accident could harm its status as an international city.
“It’s ridiculous that a government official is not interested in solving problems but to find the most frivolous reasons to throw it out of his department,” he said.


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Woman says right kidney ‘shattered’ after falling and striking edge of foam pool at Ryze Ultimate Trampoline Park on June 7 of last year


Woman says right kidney ‘shattered’ after falling and striking edge of foam pool at Ryze Ultimate Trampoline Park on June 7 of last year.
