University dropout from Hong Kong jailed for life in Taiwan after murdering landlord with dumbbell in rent row
A university dropout from Hong Kong was yesterday jailed for life by a court in Taiwan after admitting the murder of his landlord last year.
Mak Ka-ki, 23, was accused of killing the 70-year-old victim with a dumbbell and a knife during an argument over rent arrears in an apartment block near the Chinese Culture University campus where he studied.
The victim, surnamed Lin, was found rolled up in a mattress left in a corridor of the block on Guanghua Road in Shilin district.
Lin’s belongings were found dumped nearby.
Shilin District Court heard that Mak had hit the landlord’s head with a dumbbell and stabbed his neck and chest with a fruit knife on December 2, when the landlord went to meet him to collect unsettled rental payments.
The court heard that Mak had called the police to report that he had found a body
He was arrested in his girlfriend’s flat nearby on the same day.
The rent was later adjusted to NT$10,000 per month, but Mak often failed to pay.
It was also reported that Mak’s parents did not know that he had been expelled from the university in 2013 after failing to register for his second year, and had continued to send him money, which was spent on entertainment, stock investments and modifying his motorcycle.
He reportedly apologised to Lin’s family yesterday, but his apology was not accepted.
The court also deprived Mak of his civil rights, but he does have the right to appeal against his conviction.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong Immigration Department said it would provide assistances according to the wishes of Mak’s family.
