'Guard assured deadly beating was just play'
A gang of violent criminals beat a fellow Lai Chi Kok detention centre inmate to death after their ringleader assured a guard they were 'just playing', a court heard yesterday.
Wong Hing-kwok, 27, was said to have shouted for help when about 10 of his cellmates attacked him in his bunk on April 28 last year.
His cries drew a guard, who peered into the dormitory to see what was going on.
The attack was suspended while two of the men approached the entrance to speak with the Correctional Services Department officer, the High Court heard.
'The officer asked about the noise,' prosecutor Bernard Ryan said. 'Shao Ching-yuen and Cheung Chun-pong spoke to the officer, after which he left.' The gang then continued the beating.
The morning duty officer found Wong dead in his bunk when he tried to wake him the next morning. He died of multiple injuries, with 53 areas of bruising and laceration on his body.
Shao later told police he got rid of the duty guard by telling him 'nothing was happening' and the inmates were 'just playing'.
The violence against Wong was said to have begun at about 8 pm and continued for at least an hour.
Shao, 27, Cheung, 23, and Lin Man-king, 23, have denied manslaughter.
All three prisoners had been given unofficial responsibility for maintaining order in the cell.
The dispute was said to have begun on the afternoon of April 28, when Shao scolded Wong for not sweeping the floor properly and Wong appeared to ignore him.
Shao told police one of his friends had said the victim should be 'entertained' for his rudeness, Mr Ryan said.
The trial continues before Mrs Justice Verina Bokhary.
