Advertisement
Advertisement

Witness 'only able to watch' killing

A teenager at the centre of his father's murder trial was yesterday asked to explain why he stood by and watched while his father allegedly strangled his mother.

Ling Siu-tong, who was 15 at the time, has testified he saw his parents quarrel more vehemently than usual after his unemployed father asked his mother for more money.

Ling Kam-wah, 37, has pleaded not guilty in the Court of First Instance to murdering his wife, Ho Wai-chun, 44, at their Mongkok home on February 1 last year. Yesterday, Siu-tong, 16, returned to the stand after a four-day absence due to illness.

Defence counsellor Andrew Raffell resumed his cross examination by asking Siu-tong if he had re-read any of his statements during his absence. 'More than once,' Siu-tong said.

Asked if he reviewed the statements because he was worried about the cross-examination, Siu-tong said he wanted to remind himself of the details.

'You are talking rubbish [during the police interviews] because you know that you are trying to explain your behaviour because it does not make any sense,' Mr Raffell said.

Siu-tong said: 'Not so.'

Mr Raffell also asked Siu-tong if he made up lies involving his father in order to explain his 'strange behaviour' and to get Ling into more trouble.

Siu-tong denied that was the case.

'Your difficulty is this: you told [the police] your father strangled your mother and you took no steps to prevent this and this makes no sense whatsoever,' Mr Raffell said.

Siu-tong said he had been frightened at the time and could only watch.

Mr Raffell later put it to Siu-tong that even though he had just seen his father strangle his mother, whose body was lying in the flat, he had 'enough presence of mind' to scrounge $20 from his visiting grandfather so he could go out that afternoon with his friend.

Siu-tong agreed.

The case before Mr Justice Gareth Lugar-Mawson continues today.

Post