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Mr. Sin who said that he did not have time to climb out
of the window as his attackers were so close behind him jumped out of the window. He landed on a narrow asbestos awning which
protruded all along the side of this building between the 4th and
5th floors. The awning broke but he managed to catch hold of part
of the neon sign and lower himself to the top of the flower rack
protruding from the 4th floor of the building, from whence after a
short period of time he managed to awaken the occupants of a flat
on the 4th floor and climbed in through a window. However, before
he gained access to the 4th floor while he was crouching on this flower rack and while ir. Cheung was crouching on a support under the flower rack they both saw the figure of a man falling from above them on to the pavement beneath. The figure turned out to
be that of the deceased.
This was an unusual type of case as nobody actually
killed the deceased by a physical blow. The Crown's evidence was that the deceased met his death by falling from a height. However, as I explained to the jury the law is that if a person under a
well-grounded apprehension of personal violence does an act which
causes his death, one example given by the legal authorities is,
for instance, if he jumps out of a window, the person who threatened
him and so caused him to do such a thing is answerable for the
consequences. Having directed the jury as to the doctrine of common intent I further directed them that if they were satisfied beyond
reasonable doubt that as a result of the action of the accused and
his colleagues there was created in the deceased's mind such an
immediate sense of danger to himself that it caused him to climb
out of that window and fall to his death then it was open to them
to find the accused guilty of murder.
There were some puzzling aspects which arose out of the
Crown's evidence. r. Cheung said that when the deceased went into the bathroom he was only wearing a pair of underpants and a singlet,
but evidence was also adduced that when the deceased was found in
the road he was dressed in a shirt and trousers. Both Mr. Cheung and Mr. Sin said that as soon as the prisoner and his colleagues
burst into their room the deceased poked his head out of the
bathroom door whereupon one of the intruders slashed at him with
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