An 18-year-old man accused of murdering his father at the weekend and an alleged accomplice were absent from their first court date because they were still being treated in hospital, a magistrate was told.
Ian Fok Lap-yin, 18, and co-accused Chan Ming-tin, 19, are now due to appear in Tuen Mun Magistrates' Court on Friday - or earlier if their conditions permit - after Acting Principal Magistrate Li Wai-chi granted the prosecution's request yesterday that the hearing be adjourned.
Fok had been "emotionally agitated" while Chan had a fracture in his left arm, senior prosecutor Katherine Yau Kam-ling told the court. She said it was not certain when the pair could be discharged.
Yau said Fok was being treated in Pok Oi Hospital. She did not say which hospital the other defendant was in.
The son, unemployed, and his friend, a security guard, are jointly charged with murdering Fok Lai-chi and causing grievous bodily harm by stabbing with intent to murder his stepmother Irene Fok. She remains in serious condition.
Chan, who lives in San Tin, Lok Ma Chau, was accused of committing the offences on Saturday with Ian Fok at his village home, a second-floor unit in Pat Heung, Yuen Long.