A criminologist has urged a government inquiry into bullying and the psychology that lay behind the murder of Luk Chi-wai.
'I think 'overkill' is probably going to be the signature of this crime,' said Dr Rod Broadhurst, criminology lecturer at the University of Hong Kong.
'This was a cumulative series of blows over a long, long period of time in which the victim patently suffered and lost consciousness several times.
'It's about domination, revenge, control. The Government ought to take this matter seriously.' Dr Broadhurst said the crime appeared to be a case of bullying fuelled by emotional power, span out of control by a strong group dynamic.
'We ought to be worried as this bullying behaviour is common in schools and communities.' Dr Broadhurst said the murder should not be dismissed as a 'one-off' as it arose from a 'kind of group subculture'.
He called for an assessment of the psychological characteristics and environmental factors that may have led to the crime.