In police statements read out in court yesterday, Lee claimed he struck Fu when she caught him rummaging through her belongings.

He told police how on the morning of his aunt's death he had made a hole in the bottom of a wooden trunk.

In interviews Lee said: 'The chest was locked and I wanted to take valuables from it.

'I didn't want my aunt to know about it so I made a hole. I put my hand in the chest through the hole, but I couldn't find anything.' According to the statements, Lee told officers he grabbed an instrument to hit his aunt to stop her coming closer.

But Lee, who was just 19 at the time, said he could not remember the details because it was 'very confusing'.

The court heard Lee then put his aunt in a wooden linen chest, took $18,000 out of her account and fled to Trinidad, his place of birth.

Lee denies murdering Fu on August 16, 1982, at her home in Shataukok, New Territories, claiming he attacked her under provocation.

Another relative, Lee Cheung-sing, told the jury how he discovered Fu's home covered in bloodstains three days later.

Mr Lee, a retired businessman, said he had invited Fu, who was his second aunt, to dinner on the day of the killing.

Lee arrived alone saying his aunt was visiting someone else, but Mr Lee said he noticed the teenager had no appetite.

Mr Lee told the court Lee took a few mouthfuls and left immediately after dinner.

But he returned an hour later saying he wanted to spend the night because he was scared of staying in his aunt's home alone.

Mr Lee said: 'He left at 8 am the following morning. He didn't say where he was going.' The former businessman said he decided to break into Fu's home when he did not see her for three days.

'There was a lot of blood. I saw blood on the sofa and bloodstains on the ceiling. I reported it to police.' The trial before Mr Justice Jerome Chan continues today.