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Paggie Leung

Jewellery designer Edward Chiu Chung-leung protested through the city's main commercial districts yesterday against a court ruling that prevents him from engraving his family name on his mother's tombstone.

He also complained about the performance of his lawyers, who pressed ahead with an appeal a day after he announced he wanted to withdraw it.

Bearing his mother's photograph, Mr. Chiu marched with 10 supporters in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui during the lunch hour. He looked tired and tearful.

The group waved banners with slogans such as "Unfair verdict. Denied remarried woman's right to family name." They also distributed leaflets "to let the public know about Mr. Chiu's story".

The designer formerly filed a writ to High Court against his half-brother Lee FU-wai - born to his mother Fan Kwai-kam's first husband - and Mr. Lee second son Lee Kwan-kit, demanding to have his family name engraved on Madam Fan's tombstone.

But the court ruled that the Lees had the right to organize the burial and she could only be described as Mr. Chiu's "kind mother" on her gravestone and coffin.

"It's really unfair," Mr. Chiu said during yesterday marched.

Mary Ho Fong Yuet-sheung who has known Mr. Chiu for more than 10 years, joined the march.

"It's not sensible to just put 'kind mother instead of engraving the family name on the gravestone. It's a Chinese tradition for a woman to use her last husband's surname," she said. "Even in the west, married women also use their husbands' surnames."

Another marcher, Susanna Kwai, said she supported Mr. Chiu. "Though it's his mother's second marriage, it's a legal One and it is lawful for his mother to use the surname of her second husband," she said.

The law firm representing Mr. Chiu - Pansy Leung, Tang and Chua - filed a notice of appeal in the High Court and the case was heard on Thursday.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Chiu's appeal and ordered him to bear the defendants' costs.