After doctors deem patient mentally fit, he chops guard to death, court told

A hospital declared a man mentally stable a few hours before it again diagnosed him as schizophrenic - but by then, he had chopped a security guard to death, a court heard yesterday.

Wong Pat-tat, 54, hacked Lee Kai-kwong, 57, with a chopper at Choi Wah House, Choi Yuen Estate in Sheung Shui, on January 30 last year. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Court of First Instance yesterday.

Before the killing, Wong hallucinated he was seeing ghosts and had delusions Lee had killed his wife. On the night of the attack, Wong's wife called the police at 3.30am after he kept knocking on doors and making noises with kitchen utensils, prosecutor Richard Wong Tat-wah said.

The wife was aware of Wong's mental illness, the court heard. Wong was taken to North District Hospital at about 4am, but was diagnosed as mentally stable and discharged, the prosecutor said.

But about three hours later, Wong left his home, went to a guard post three floors below his flat, and attacked Lee with a chopper. The attack was captured on surveillance camera.

Wong then returned home with the chopper and was subdued by his family members, who called the police. After his arrest, he was taken back to North District Hospital, where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.