The judge in the trial of a man sentenced to life over the death of a bar hostess misdirected the jury, appeal court rules
A man jailed for life in the infamous Hello Kitty manslaughter trial had his conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal yesterday.
The three appeal judges ruled that trial judge Mr Justice Peter Nguyen misdirected the jury when summing up the case on Leung Shing-cho, 29, which amounted to a miscarriage of justice.
Vice-president Mr Justice Michael Stuart-Moore, sitting with Mr Justice Frank Stock and Mr Justice Conrad Seagroatt, said the trial judge failed to indicate sufficiently to the jury how and in what circumstances Leung could be convicted if he was not at the crime scene when Fan Man-yee died as a result of a beating at the hands of others.
There were other 'shortcomings' as the judge also failed to deal with the possibility of Leung's withdrawal from the venture, the judgment handed down yesterday said.
'There were material irregularities arising from the omissions in the directions regarding [Leung] as to joint enterprise and his possible withdrawal from the joint venture. Accordingly, [Leung's] conviction for manslaughter will be quashed,' the judges ruled.