Man sentenced to life for killing Hong Kong worker found hanged in cell
- Man discovered inside Stanley Prison cell at 8.44pm on Sunday
A 32-year-old man sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a Hong Kong convenience store worker over two cans of beer worth HK$31 (US$4) in 2019 has died after he was found hanged in a maximum-security jail.
The former sailor was discovered by a correctional officer inside his one-person cell at Stanley Prison at 8.44pm on Sunday.
A source familiar with the case said on Monday the man was checked up on about 15 minutes earlier and everything seemed normal.
“The person in custody has committed suicide by hanging with a bedsheet tied to the window grille bars of his cell,” the Correctional Services Department said.
The officer immediately called for reinforcement to provide first aid and for an ambulance to send the man to a public hospital, it added.
He was subsequently certified dead at 10.06pm.
In February last year, a nine-member High Court jury unanimously convicted the man, who claimed he fatally assaulted 61-year-old Tang Chung-keung under provocation on December 28, 2019.
The man, who was unemployed at the time, left the 7-Eleven store on Kik Yeung Road in Yuen Long that night without paying for the drinks he intended to get for his girlfriend, a trial held in January 2023 heard.
Shop assistant Tang gave chase at first but turned back when the man pursued him.
Tang fell to the ground and the man then kicked his head and chest multiple times. He hit Tang’s head until he passed out, the court was told. The victim died two days later at hospital.
The court heard that the defendant was born and educated in Hong Kong and left for the United Kingdom after Form Three to continue his studies.
The source said a preliminary investigation indicated the man had expressed feelings of despair to his family and friends, and felt guilty over killing the victim.
The Post learned that the man had been diagnosed by a doctor with hallucinations and received regular check-ups and medication.
“It is believed that these factors led to the suicide,” the insider said, adding the prisoner was alone in the cell and that initial investigations found nothing suspicious
The case has been reported to police and the department said an inquest would be held by the Coroner’s Court.
