6.-
It
24. The jury deliberated for over 8 hours and as the learned trial judge indicates, they werk possibly troubled over the degree of provocation caused to the defendant. is clear that the murder did not arise from an illegal act planned or premeditated.
25. Although there was no vidence of unreasonable behaviour on the part of the deceased, and the witnesses and the defendant all said they had never seen him behave in any unusual or peculiar way, nevertheless the fact remains that he had a medical history which may possibly have contributed in some way to his behaviour on the night of the incident leading up to his death.
26. Although the report from the Probation Service suggests that the defendant in July denied his responsibility and could see no wrong in what he had done he clearly expresses remorse in his petition.
REPORT BY THE TRIAL JUDGE
27.
The learned Chief Justice, the trial Judge, says on page 5 of his report:
"It may be proper to give account, in considering the issue of commutation, of the history of mental instability of the defendant, who probably had a lower flash point than the ordinary man.
17
It has not been possible, due to the Chief Justice's absence from Hong Kong, to seek clarification from him of this observation.
23. But he is in error in that the montal instability was on
There was no the part of the deceased, not of the accused. suggestion at trial, nor has there been in prison since, of any
Indeed in his mental instability on the part of the defendant LI. summing-up the learned Judge referred to the deceased's medical condition.
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