A jobless man said he reached such depths of despair over a break-up with his girlfriend that, in May, he planned to take his life and tied her up so she would be forced to watch him die, a court heard yesterday.
Steve Chan Chi-yuen, 30, failed in his suicide plan because the charcoal he had prepared and left outside the flat of Chan Sze-ki, 33, in Sha Tin, was missing by the time he finished subduing his former girlfriend inside.
Steve Chan's antics alerted people in the area, but he refused to release Chan Sze-ki until firefighters broke into the flat, ending her 12-hour ordeal, the District Court heard.
He pleaded guilty to one count of false imprisonment.
The defendant was heartbroken over their split and detained his former girlfriend as he was afraid she would refuse to hear his last words, barrister Josiah Chan Chung-ming said.
"He had never used violence against Chan Sze-ki, not even once," the barrister said.