TNAG-1212-FCO40-1515-Crimes-and-sentences-in-Hong-Kong--including-death-sentences-1982 — Page 189

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although the partitions gave visual privacy they were not effective in preventing sound from one cubicle being very easily heard in the

others.

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There was no history of any previous disagreements between any of the tenants of the premises. In particular, there had been no friction between the defendant Li, who had been there for about two years, and the victim Tong, who had arrived a few weeks before.

Tong had a history of schizophrenia, for which he had received treatment from October 1978 until shortly before the date of the murder. He had been an inpatient in Castle Peak in November 1979 for 4 weeks and in May 1980 for two months. He had a history of being aggressive and irritable, though there was no record of any previous violence.

The television set

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When the victim entered the flat, he heard the sound of a There was TV set coming from the cubicle occupied by the defendant. some disagreement among the various witnesses as to how loud the get-

It should be borne in mind that tenants living in such crowded conditions have to become accustomed to a level of noise which would be less tolerable to those who occupy genuinely self contained accommodation with some aural privacy.

was.

It seems likely that the set was being played loudly, but not to an extent which was unusual in the circumstances of the flat. However, it annoyed the victim, who went to the defendant's cubicle

He put one and asked him to turn it down, because he wanted to study. of his feet inside the defendant's cubicle and repeated his demand

several times.

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According to the Crown witnesses, the defendant picked up a knife from a table in the cubicle and dared Tong to come in and turn it off himself. When Tong repeated his request, the defendant lost his temper and came towards Tong, with his knife in his hand.