An unemployed man was remanded in custody on Monday after being convicted of manslaughter over the death of his girlfriend, whom he admitted beating with a wooden rod.
The 29-year-old defendant, Ng Ka-sing, had earlier admitted one count of preventing the lawful burial of a body, but denied murdering 30-year-old Yip Tsz-ching at their flat in Galore Garden, Hung Shui Kiu, between April 28 and 29, 2022.
The High Court heard that Ng was found dragging a quilt-wrapped body on a trolley at about 6am on April 29, 2022, after a passer-by spotted a leg protruding from the bundle.
After an 11-day trial, a jury acquitted Ng of murder by a 5-2 majority last Friday, but unanimously convicted him of manslaughter.
A post-mortem examination found that Yip had sustained multiple injuries to her head and body, including head lacerations, extensive bleeding at the back of her skull and corrosive burns covering more than half of her body.
Her cause of death was determined to be a combination of suffocation, head trauma and extensive skin burns.
In his defense, Ng claimed that he and Yip had been abused, extorted and assaulted by Yip’s god-sister and her husband after moving into the flat with them.
He said the beating was intended to help Yip, who weighed more than 200 pounds, lose weight by keeping her awake overnight under the god-sister’s instructions.
Ng further alleged that he would be beaten by the god-sister and her husband if he failed to comply.
While admitting under police caution that he had accidentally beaten Yip to death with a wooden rod, Ng insisted that he had not struck her head and maintained that the incident was a mistake rather than murder.
He also said the god-sister’s husband, surnamed Tsoi, suggested several ways to dispose of the body after Yip’s death, including wrapping it in a red-white-blue plastic bag, rolling it in a mattress, binding it with tape, or dismembering or cremating it.
Ng said that as Yip’s body was too heavy and he was frightened by the idea of dismemberment, he wrapped the body in a quilt, secured it with tape, covered it with garbage bags and loaded it onto a trolley.
He claimed he had planned to either dump the body, seek help from passers-by or surrender at a police station before he was reported.
Judge Judianna Barnes Wai-ling adjourned the case to August 10 for a psychiatric report on Ng. Ng will remain in custody until the next hearing.
