A man fighting for a US$110,000 (HK$849,500) insurance payout over his father's violent death yesterday admitted he had been a prime suspect in the murder investigation.
Bruce Baron, 48, told the Court of First Instance he was interrogated by police throughout the night after his father, Howard, was shot dead at Star House on New Year's Eve, 1972.
Policemen had made 'snide remarks' to him, tried to make him feel ill at ease and followed him for several weeks after the killing, he told the court.
Barrister Ben Beaumont asked him: 'Did the police ever tell you why you were treated as a suspect?' Mr Baron said he had been targeted only on the basis of statistical probability.
Mr Justice Conrad Seagroatt said relatives of murder victims were often treated as suspects when the police were unable to find anyone with 'a smoking gun'. The case remains unsolved.
Mr Beaumont, who represents an insurance agent accused of deceiving Mr Baron over his father's personal accident policy, said the son had a cast-iron alibi for the time of the killing and could not have done it.
The judge had expressed concern over Mr Baron being questioned about being a suspect, and asked whether this was relevant to the case. Mr Beaumont said he wanted to find out whether a family dispute had been the reason why police had taken an interest in Mr Baron.