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One of the refrigerators allegedly used by Henry Chau and Tse to store the victims' remains last year. Photo: SCMP

‘Bags of human hands and feet’ found at scene of double murder of elderly couple

A jobless man who allegedly killed and dismembered his parents intended to surrender to police to seek redemption for his sins, the Court of First Instance heard.

JULIE CHU

A jobless man who allegedly killed and dismembered his parents intended to surrender to police to seek redemption for his sins, the Court of First Instance heard yesterday.

Henry Chau Hoi-leung's friend Chan Sing-yiu told the court he believed that was the main reason Chau decided to turn himself in.

Barrister Nicholas Adams, representing Chau, 30, then asked Chan: "Is it because he could not handle the relationship with his parents well?"

Chan answered: "Yes."

Chan, 32, said Chau confessed the deed to him and Chau's cousin, Siu Wing-kwan, in Tsim Sha Tsui early on the morning of March 15 last year.

He said Chau had described to him how he and his alleged accomplice Tse Chun-kei killed his parents, Chau Wing-ki, 65, and Siu Yuet-yee, 62, by "one person, one knife".

Chau also contemplated buying an electric saw to dismember the bodies, he said.

Chan said that after news spread that Chau's parents had gone missing, Chau felt that the people around him cared about him and reconnected him with the world. Chau then had the idea to surrender himself, he said.

Siu agreed to accompany him to the police station. As it was already 3am, they decided to do so in the afternoon. But Chau was arrested later that morning.

Chan said Chau was his primary school classmate and that Chau was just an ordinary child at the time. He had some emotional problems when he was in secondary school, complaining that his parents were forcing him to learn the piano, he said.

He said Chau had an unhappy time when he later studied in Australia. Apart from his poor academic performance, Chau also experienced racial discrimination, he said.

Chan said that while he kept in touch with Chau, they grew apart. He felt Chau could not integrate well with society.

Tse Wing-hong, a friend of Chau's co-defendant Tse Chun-kei, told the court that Tse Chun-kei called him on February 25 last year saying he had something "very important" to do in the upcoming months but did not specify what the matter was.

On March 4 last year, Tse Chun-kei, 36, called him again and said he felt sick and drained of energy. He asked why, but the man did not respond, he said.

Tse Wing-hong said his friend had a "simple mind" and trusted people too much. He saw Tse Chun-kei as a gentle person who did not easily lose his temper.

Government forensics officer Mak Chung-hung, who visited the murder scene in Tai Kok Tsui, told the court that he noticed a strong smell of disinfectant when he entered the flat.

He found bloodstains on some of the walls of the flat and a blood-covered chopping board as well as three black plastic bags filled with human remains.

Inside each plastic bag was a sealed storage box containing human remains and mothballs, Mak told the court.

One of the boxes contained two left hands, one right hand, one left foot, one right foot and some salted meat, Mak said.

He found more limbs in the other two bags, he said.

Chau and Tse Chun-kei deny murdering the couple on March 1 last year.

A female juror was exempted from duty yesterday. Deputy Judge Michael Stuart-Moore told the jury only that it was "concerning the case" but did not elaborate on the reason for her absence. The trial continues before a six-member jury - three men and three women - today.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Dismembered couple's son 'meant to turn himself in'
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