Mother's love 'showed she was too kind to die', jury told

A mother's love for her baby touched the heart of an alleged serial killer and persuaded him she was too kind to die, a jury heard yesterday.

Chan Ka-chun, 27, told police the woman stirred memories of his childhood, during which he was starved of motherly love.

He described how he wrestled with his conscience after making a cement-filled coffin for the victim, who had been held prisoner, robbed and raped.

'It is because I saw her watching TV. There is a new year advert. She saw a kid and thought of her baby. Perhaps because I have lacked mother love since my childhood, I felt she was great,' he said.

Chan said he discussed the question of whether to kill the 29-year-old masseuse with an alleged accomplice, Leung Sze-lai, 23.

'I felt it was not necessary to kill her. I thought just let her go even if we would be in trouble.

'I had struggled for a while. For a period of time. It is because I knew that if I did not kill her there, I would die for sure.' The prosecution alleges Chan lured the woman to a holiday villa in Cheung Chau.