When jury members in Hong Kong received death threat over manslaughter conviction for deadly knife and arson attack
- In 1972 a gang of youths armed with knives and iron bars attacked a family in their flat and set fire to it, seriously injuring four people, two of whom died
- Three youths were sentenced to death for murder, and others were convicted of manslaughter. One of the defendants threatened to kill the jury
“Ten teddyboys, armed with knives and iron bars, last night rushed into a flat in the Wong Tai Sin resettlement estate, attacked the occupants and set fire to the premises,” reported the South China Morning Post on October 19, 1972.
“Neighbours rushed out of their flats and assisted the injured out of the blazing premises and called in the police and fire services. The injured, three young men, Chiu Yiu-leung, 21, Chiu Yick-yin, 14, and Chiu Kin, 19, and a woman, Lo Siu-mui, 50, who suffered serious stab wounds were admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
“In the same estate last night, a young man [Wong Chau-kwong, 25] was seriously injured when he was attacked by youths armed with knives […] Residents believed that the attack on Wong could have been by the same gang.”
On June 15, 1973, the Post reported that “three youths were sentenced to death in the Supreme Court yesterday after a jury of seven had found them guilty of murdering” Lo and her son Chiu Kin, “by setting fire to their Wong Tai Sin resettlement estate home”. According to evidence given during the trial, the defendants set fire to Lo’s home following a fight with the son.
“The jury also found them guilty of attempting to murder three other members of Ms Lo’s family. Three other youths and a 14-year-old boy, charged with the same offences, were found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.”
