Son who killed and dismembered parents found guilty of gruesome Hong Kong double murder
Judge condemns ‘extremely dangerous’ killer who chopped up and cooked his victims
A 31-year-old man was convicted of murder yesterday for killing and dismembering his parents, then cooking and microwaving their body parts, while his co-defendant was acquitted of the same charges and walked free from the High Court.
A nine-member jury found Chau guilty by an eight-to-one majority, but unanimously cleared Tse Chun-kei, 38, of the two murder charges.
"Henry Chau is always blaming anyone but himself. He is a complete failure in life and soul," Stuart-Moore said.
The judge described Tse as "naive and vulnerable … being bullied and used by people all your life". He told Tse: "Henry Chau is kind to you, generous to you … but he is just using you."
Stuart-Moore noted that a judge seldom commented on a jury's verdict, but in this case he agreed with its decision.
He then exempted the jurors from jury service for life and doubled their allowances owing to the unusual nature of the case.
READ MORE: Fragrance masked the true horror inside apartment at centre of HK double murder case
Both defendants had previously admitted two counts of preventing the lawful burials of Chau's father, Chau Wing-ki, 65, and mother, Siu Yuet-yee, 63.
Henry Chau maintained a calm demeanour as the verdict was passed, while Tse kept nodding and almost cried when he heard he would be free. Stuart-Moore released Tse on the spot as he had been in custody for two years, and adjourned Chau's sentencing to Monday.
Tse's sister, Phoebe Tse, rushed to the High Court to fetch her brother after knowing the result. She shouted to reporters: "Give us some room. You're so horrible." She then escorted Tse into a taxi and left. She later told the media: "We want to live our own lives."
Earlier, the court heard that Chau's parents followed their son to Tse's Tai Kok Tsui flat on March 1, 2013, then disappeared.
A few days later, Henry Chau accompanied his elder brother Chau Hoi-ying to look for their parents and even accepted a media interview to seek help from the public.
But while making a police report, he sent text messages to friends admitting to the killings. He later divulged more details in front of a cousin and a friend, including his ambition to be a serial killer, before he was arrested with Tse on March 15 that year.
Police found the couple's bodies chopped into pieces, with their heads stored in two refrigerators in Tse's flat. Chau admitted he had knifed his parents to death and alleged Tse was his partner in crime, who had killed his mother and dismembered the body.
Tse denied having been party to the plan. He claimed Chau had shown him a box of human remains and threatened to hurt his mother. Police later found a shopping list and notes on the plot under Tse's mattress.
