Family of man murdered by teens call for law reform

The family of a man killed in Toronto after allegedly being 'swarmed' by eight teenage girls have called for his attackers to be publicly named.

Ken Lee's family say authorities must be "tough on youth" and called for the Canadian law that governs youth criminal justice to be reformed.

"Identities of these murderers should be made public to bring forth more victims, witnesses and evidence," they said.

Canadian officials have not commented.

Under Canadian law, minors accused of crimes cannot be publicly named.

The law, known as the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was passed in 2003 and was in part intended to better guard certain the interests of youths who become involved in the legal system.

However, Mr Lee's family contend that "for serious crimes, these perpetrators should not have any privacy rights or bail" and that the law does not do enough to "ensure that these young criminals are responsible and accountable for their actions".

"How is the Act protecting the public if we don't know who these perpetrators are and why they are released on bail?" they asked.

One of the accused teenagers has been granted bail, and the remaining seven have bail hearings scheduled for this month. They are aged between 13 and 16 years old.

Police believe the teens connected via social media, and possibly met for the first time on the night of the attack in December.

Mr Lee, 59, was allegedly "swarmed" and stabbed by the group outside of a shelter in downtown Toronto. He was later taken to hospital, where he died.

His family called Mr Lee a "kind soul with a heart of gold," who had been down on his luck when he was attacked.

"He was a man with pride who had fallen and wanted to learn to stand up on his own knowing that he always had his family behind him."