Light sentence for killing man dying of cancer

A RETIRED policeman who got into an ill-fated fight with an elderly man who had only six months to live was yesterday jailed for manslaughter.

Passing what he described as an 'extremely lenient' sentence of 21/2 years on Lam Kin-shing, 47, Deputy High Court Judge Yeung said it was a sad case because a man had lost his life as a result of an argument over a trivial matter.

He accepted that the offence was committed during an outburst of temper and that Lam might have been provoked by 67-year-old Tai Mok-chi when both, to a certain degree, were under the influence of alcohol.

However, he could not ignore the fact that Tai, who had liver cancer, died because of Lam's unlawful act and the evidence clearly showed that some force had been used.

Evidence called by prosecutor John Necholas had established that both Lam and Tai had been drinking before they met each other in a seating area near Cheung Hang Community Hall, Tsing Yi, at 9 am on January 3 last year.

They had an argument on whether or not to report damage done to a fountain in the park to the authorities. The dispute led to a fight and Tai, who was a drug addict, collapsed. He died the next day from a ruptured liver.