123
daughter that triggered much of his sadness. If she had been alive, I believe
that he would have lived much longer.”288
For all the above, this Court deems that the parents of the victim must be
compensated for non-pecuniary damage. Since Yam Mack Choy passed away,
the compensation in his favor must be given in full to Zoila Chang Lau;
d)
with respect to Helen Mack Chang, the sister of the victim, this Court
also deems that in the case of siblings the degree of relationship and affection
between them must be taken into account.289 This lady has felt deep
suffering and grief due to the extra-legal death of her sister, which altered her
life and that of her family, especially that of her parents and of her niece; the
way her sister was murdered has had an impact on her for a long time; seeing
her parents pain and having had to give her niece the news of her mother’s
death has caused her indescribable suffering. Taking the necessary steps
before the police and the judiciary to seek justice involved her in a process
“which [she] never imagine[d] would take on the proportions it did.” She had
to give up her professional activity to personally undertake the search for
justice and, therefore, to struggle against impunity. She has participated
actively in the criminal proceeding from the start; she has suffered acts of
harassment and threats that have place her life and her personal safety at
risk; and to protect her family, she has adopted serious security measures
that have altered their family life, all of which has caused her great emotional
stress (supra para. 127.d). Therefore, the Court deems that she must be
compensated for non-pecuniary damage;
e)
with respect to Marco Mack Chang and Freddy Mack Chang, brothers of
the victim, they also suffered grief due to the cruel death of their sister, and
her absence saddens them; she was the person who supported the family in
difficult moments. They have also suffered the stress of struggling for such a
long time to elucidate the facts and of living with the uncertainty of what will
happen in the proceeding, a situation that has also made them fear the
danger faced by the family at crucial moments in the trial (supra paras.
134.104 and 134.105). Therefore, this Court deems that they should be
compensated for non-pecuniary damage;
f)
with respect to Vivian Mack Chang, sister of the victim, this Court has
stated, in its recent case law, that it can be assumed that the death of a
sibling causes non-pecuniary damage to the other siblings290 and, therefore,
she must receive compensation for this; and
g)
regarding Ronald Chang Apuy, cousin of the victim (supra para.
134.103), it has been proven that he lived with the Mack family since he was
small and that he is considered one more member of the family. He had close
emotional ties with Myrna Mack Chang and he has shared with the family the
sorrow and suffering for their loss. He has also experienced the fear caused
288
Cf. sworn statements of Lucrecia Hernández Mack, Zoila Chang Lau, Helen Mack Chang, Marco
Mack Chang and Freddy Mack Chang made before a notary public on August 22, 2001 (file with annexes
to the brief with requests, pleadings and evidence submitted by the representatives of the next of kin of
the victim, annex R-VI-12, leaves 2291 to 2298).
289
Cf. Cantoral Benavides Case. Reparations, supra note 248, para. 61 b); and “White Van” Case
(Paniagua Morales et al.). Reparations, supra note 277, para. 109.
290
Cf. Trujillo Oroza Case. Reparations, supra note 277, para. 88 d); Cantoral Benavides Case.
Reparations, supra note 248, paras. 37 and 61 d); and Villagrán Morales et al. Case Reparations, supra
note 277, para. 68.
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