Seven years in jail for elderly Hong Kong man who beat wife to death with hammer
77-year-old convicted of manslaughter over violent attack on his spouse after she accused him of pocketing their welfare payments
An elderly man who bludgeoned his wife to death with a hammer in a row about money was jailed for seven years this morning.
Woo Kam-cheung, 77, was convicted of manslaughter after a jury yesterday unanimously found him not guilty of murdering Lai Sau-fong, 76.
Deputy Judge Gareth Lugar-Mawson told Woo there was “no evidence to show you are a violent man and the jury accepted that you committed the offence out of character”.
READ MORE: Elderly Hong Kong man tells court of his remorse after killing wife in hammer attack
The couple’s three children wrote a letter to the court saying they had forgiven their father.
But the judge said he could not disregard the aggressive nature of the attack on Lai, who suffered serious injuries to her head and face.
“Your wife must have been terrified,” Lugar-Mawson said in the High Court. If not for his age and good background, he said he would have jailed Woo for nine years rather than seven.
The court heard the elderly couple fell out in their flat on the Wang Tau Hom Estate, Wong Tai Sin, on May 26 last year over the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance they received.
READ MORE: Hong Kong man, 77, killed wife with hammer in row that began with throwing banana skins, court told
Woo claimed his wife accused him of secretly pocketing some of the money. In the heat of the argument, the couple threw banana skins at each other. Woo said Lai then brandished a knife and he picked up a hammer in self-defence.
He admitted he had “completely lost control”. Lai’s 33 injuries included a fractured skull and jaw.
Woo confessed to their son the next morning.
