Slain Mountie’s family decries ‘systemic failure’ after suspect ruled unfit for trial

VANCOUVER — The family of British Columbia RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang says they’ve lost trust in the institutions she served after the suspect in her killing was deemed unfit for trial, while denouncing “systemic failure” they say puts front-line workers at risk.

A victim-impact statement from the family says a medical diagnosis is not a “substitute for moral accountability,” and Yang’s death has left them “irrevocably shattered.”

Jongwon Ham was charged with first-degree murder after Yang’s stabbing death in a Burnaby, B.C., park in October 2022, but a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled Monday that Ham’s “delusions prevent him making rational decisions” in his defence.

Yang’s family prepared the statement to present at Ham’s fitness hearing, but it was released to The Canadian Press via the National Police Federation after they were told it could not be part of that process.

“We do not ignore the predicaments of those who are suffering from mental health conditions,” the statement said. “However, compassion that is institutionally directed toward only one party creates a profoundly dangerous imbalance.”

“Where is the compassion for the protector and the family she left behind?”

The statement said the process to determine an accused’s mental fitness provides no opportunity for victims to be heard, ignoring their “ongoing trauma” and showing compassion for only those accused of harm.

Ham may still have to face trial for the murder charge once he’s considered mentally fit and the B.C. Review Board will consider his mental status in 90 days.

National Police Federation President Brian Sauvé, said in an interview Tuesday that Yang’s family members have expressed feeling “misled” about providing the court with a victim impact statement.

He said an accused being found unfit to stand trial can leave statements from victims “in limbo,” and exposes “a gap in Canada’s legal system and Canada’s justice system.”

The federation sent a letter to federal and B.C. attorneys general last month, outlining concerns that victims’ voices are left unheard in trial fitness proceedings.

“For the family of a murdered officer to be told that there is ‘no procedural space; for their voice and that their daughter, who paid the ultimate price in the service of this country, is a legal nonentity at this stage, is not acceptable or consistent with her RCMP colleagues’ or Canadians’ expectations,” the letter said.

Sauvé said the federation hasn’t received a reply to the letter, but he’s optimistic that the problem can be dealt with by both levels of government through legislation and other means.

He said fitness findings don’t stand forever and come up for regular review, but victim’s families can’t submit statements that stand on the record, and instead get “re-victimized” by the process.

The family said that to find an accused unfit for trial or not criminally responsible due to mental illness wrongfully “marginalizes the victim’s pursuit of justice.”

They said they released the statement fearing that Yang’s “sacrifice may never be officially recorded or represented within the legal structure she served.”

The statement said the systemic challenges of untreated mental illness, homelessness, and drug abuse place front-line workers at risk, and their loss has been “compounded by how her death has been structurally ignored.”

“For our family, sharing Shaelyn’s story and the profound impact of her loss is incredibly important,” Shiling Yang, Shaelyn Yang’s aunt, said in a statement released by the federation on Tuesday.

“We believed the justice system would provide a way to honour her life; instead, we feel we have been left without a voice. If the accused is deemed unfit in perpetuity, Shae’s case will be effectively suspended forever — never to be recorded or resolved within the judicial system.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2026

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press