TNAG-1212-FCO40-1515-Crimes-and-sentences-in-Hong-Kong--including-death-sentences-1982 — Page 26

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as the accused pushed him away. He then said that the deceased

snatched the knife from him and that there was then a struggle as

he tried to get the knife away from the deceased. He then heard

shouting for help so he pushed the deceased away and went

looking for

The accused said and the prosecution evidence tended to

confirm that after the incident he ascended the stairs from the

second floor of the building where he resided to the rooftop above

the 15th floor taking the scout knife with him. There he threatened

to commit suicide by jumping to the street but a number of police

officers conversed with him for several hours with a view to dissuade

him. Eventually, Inspector Pak-tim persuaded him to surrender

by agreeing to "five conditions" which the accused laid down as his

"terms of surrender". During his conversations with the inspector

the accused said when the inspector told him what he genuinely thought then, narely that the deceased had not suffered fatal

injuries, that he knew for sure and added: "I aimed at the right

place".

There was ample evidence from the testimony of

the number and nature of the injuries received by the accused and

the deceased and the accused's statement to Inspector, to support

the jury's finding that the killing of the deceased was not done in self-defence, that it was done without provocation and that the accused did it with the intent necessary to constitute the offence

of murder. I therefore agree with the jury's verdict.

Recommendation

The jury comprised four European men, three European women and one Asian (non-Chinese) man. They deliberated from about 3.20 p.m. until midnight before reaching a verdict. A request for redirections at around 6 p.m. indicated that the issue of provocation may have been causing some concern at that stage. If that was their difficulty, they finally resolved it by finding that there was no

conduct on the part of either

or the deceased which might

have amounted, in law, to provocation. That was a reasonable finding

on the evidence.