appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

JULIE CHU

A man accused of helping a friend kill and dismember his friend's parents said he felt like a slave compelled to follow his orders, the Court of First Instance heard yesterday.
Tse Chun-kei, 38, said he was very afraid when co-accused Henry Chau, 31, showed him a box of body parts on March 4, 2013. Tse said he was worried that Chau and his friends would harm his own mother.
"I think it is very much like a slave," Tse said, adding that he felt he could only do whatever Chau asked him to do. But he said that Chau acted like a friend sometimes.
Prosecutor Michael Arthur asked Tse why he did not go to his mother's home to protect her if he was worried about her safety.
Tse claimed his mind was blank and he felt he could not leave Chau alone. He said that he left the flat one time and Chau called him immediately.
Arthur said Tse would have known of Chan's plan to kill his father Chau Wing-ki, 65, and mother Siu Yuet-yee, 63, on March 1, 2013, as evidence showed he had discussed the plan to kill the elderly couple with Henry Chau via social media since October, 2012.
Tse disagreed. He claimed he seldom used the MSN Messenger service and believed someone else had access to his computer and used his account to talk.
He said the alleged conversation between the two friends had used the word "schedule" in English. Tse said that he did not even know the meaning of the word.
Court has heard that the two friends then prepared a list to buy knives, hammers, bleach, refrigerators, microwave ovens and rice cookers the following month.
The items were bought in January and February 2013. Tse maintained that some of the items were not bought by him and some items, such as the microwave oven, was used to cook sausages for himself, but not to cook body parts.
Arthur suggested that when Tse resigned from his job as a security guard on February 25 that year, he was preparing to take part in the murder of the couple along with Henry Chau.
Tse said he resigned because Henry Chau promised to accompany him travelling on the mainland for a month.
He said, however, that Henry Chau did not take him on the trip but took him shopping for new clothes and they also went for expensive meals in a hotel.
Tse said Henry Chau was upset around the time of killings as Chau had broken up with a girlfriend from Japan.
Tse said he heard that the girl had met a new boyfriend and that she ended the relationship with Chau.
He told the court that when Henry Chau first showed him the boxes of body parts, he thought they were his ex-girlfriend and the girl's new boyfriend.
Tse told court he only realised the body parts were Chau's parents when he saw the news about the murders on television.
He admitted Henry Chau mentioned on December, 2012, that he wanted to kill his parents.
He said he told his friend that his mother did not know how to communicate with him and the threat was not mentioned again.
"He only said it once when he was upset. I didn't think he meant it. I didn't know he would really kill his parents," Tse said.
Tse and Henry Chau deny murdering the couple.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Michael Stuart-Moore today.


Hong Kong man felt 'like a slave' to follow murder co-accused, trial told

Tse Chun-kei (left) said he was very afraid when co-accused Henry Chau (right) showed him a box of body parts on March 4, 2013. Tse said he was worried that Chau and his friends would harm his own mother. Photos: Felix Wong

News

Hong Kong

Man on trial for allegedly helping a friend to kill and dismember elderly parents was forced to follow co-accused's orders, court told


A man accused of helping a friend kill and dismember his friend's parents said he felt like a slave compelled to follow his orders, the Court of First Instance heard yesterday.


Hong Kong man felt 'like a slave' to follow murder co-accused, trial told

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Man on trial for allegedly helping a friend to kill and dismember elderly parents was forced to follow co-accused's orders, court told

Man on trial for allegedly helping a friend to kill and dismember elderly parents was forced to follow co-accused's orders, court told