Three-year jail term for killing sick mother
A man who killed his sick mother by pushing her in a wheelchair into the sea was yesterday sentenced to three years in jail for manslaughter.
Ng Wai-kwong, 51, was originally charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility for the killing of Lai Wai-ching, 82.
Wanting to put his mother out of her misery and die by her side, the court heard Ng tied them both to the wheelchair before pushing it into the sea. He was rescued by police but his mother died.
Sentencing in the Court of First Instance, Madam Justice Clare-Marie Beeson said a deterrent sentence was needed to prevent similar occurrences.
'Mercy killing is not accepted in the law of Hong Kong,' she said.
The judge said Ng had deprived his father and siblings of seeing the dead woman travel the final leg of her life and the family's despair had been aggravated by the charges against Ng.
The court and the law should protect people from those who, for their own reasons and convenience, would take the lives of others who lack the ability to protect themselves, she said.
After sentencing, the judge said respect and appreciation had to be extended to police officers Lai Kwok-wing and Au Cheuk-wai, who had shown courage in the rescue attempt. 'The task was not easy because the defendant was struggling and the deceased was tightly tied to the wheelchair,' she said.
Defence barrister Graham Harris said Ng had been diagnosed with a depressive disorder since becoming unemployed eight months before the offence. He said the condition stemmed from Ng's poor health and financial problems.
The court heard that at 1.30pm on July 20 last year, Ng arrived at the Yan Elderly Care Centre in Kowloon City Road and told staff he was taking Lai, who had been living at the centre since 2002, to see her husband.
At the time of her death, Lai was suffering from a brain tumour, pneumonia, gout, osteoporosis, blindness, muscle wasting with joint deformities, and bed sores, the court was told. She was also immobile and seriously underweight.
Shortly before 4pm on the day of her death, witnesses saw Ng wheeling his mother near the Hoi Sum Temple in Kwei Chow Street, near the Kowloon waterfront.
One witness saw Ng pushing the wheelchair slowly towards the sea before sending it into the water.
Witnesses heard a cry followed by a splash, and ran to investigate. They saw Ng floating in the water and his mother half submerged with the wheelchair floating next to her.
They hailed a boat to try to rescue the pair and called police. Officers Lai and Au dived into the sea to rescue them.
Ng, who was struggling to avoid his own rescue, was yelling: 'Don't rescue her. Let her die.'
Lai was pronounced dead on arrival at Queen Elizabeth Hospital just before 4.30pm.
