TNAG-0486-FCO40-551-Review-of-death-sentence-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 37

BETWEEN

ANNEX

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 141 OF 1973

CHAN Hon-tong

and

The Queen

B

TO XC(174) >

Appellant

Respondent

:

Coram Full Court (Blair-Kerr, S.P.J., Briggs & McMullin JJ.) Date : 26th April 1973.

JUDGMENT

McMullin J. :

The appeal of this appellant was dismissed by the Full Court on the 26th of April following upon a hearing of two and half days and we intimated at that time that we would record our reasons at a later date.

The appellant, CHAN Hon-tong, was convicted on the 26th of February this year of the murder of a young girl called WOIG Yuk-lin. The undisputed facts were that the deceased, a girl of about 18 years of age, had been working as a domestic servant for a lirs. McLean at Flat No. 4, Chung Hom Kok Government Quarters during the month of March 1972. On the 17th of that month Mrs. McLean left the fla: as usual at about 7.30 in the morning having arranged with the deceased, who did not reside at the flat, to remain on the premises until she should return in the evening for the purpose of preparing her evening real. Mrs. McLean returned from work at about 6.00 p.m. to find that a parcel of meat and some groceries which had been delivered earlier in the day were resting on the floor outside the main door of the flat. She rang the bell but when nobody answered she let herself in with her own key. There was no sign of her servant and one or two minor peculiarities in the appearance of the flat aroused her anxiety. Without searching further on her own she fetched a Mr. Mills who was her neighbour in the same block of flats and together they went through the rooms until they came to the store room near the amah's quarters.