Mixed Portrayal Of HKU Professor As Verdict Nears

The prosecution and defence on Tuesday offered conflicting views of a University of Hong Kong professor on trial for the killing of his wife in their closing arguments.

Prosecutors described Cheung Kie-chung as “a cold-blooded man who was well aware of what he was doing”.

Cheung, 56, earlier pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted manslaughter. His wife Chan Wai-man was strangled in the bedroom of their home on August 17, 2018.

Closing their case, prosecutors dismissed claims by Cheung’s defence lawyer that the former associate professor of mechanical engineering had lost control of himself during the killing.

The prosecution told the High Court that Cheung had behaved in a calm and rational manner before, during and after the killing, and there was no evidence to suggest that his state of mind was substantially impaired at the time.

The defence, meanwhile, pointed out Cheung was "subject to chronic psychological abuse [from his wife] over a long period of time" and was suffering an “abnormality of the mind”, and stressed the possibility that his mental responsibility had been impaired cannot be ruled out.

It said many witnesses, including Cheung's own children, described the defendant as “softly spoken" and "a gentle man” who had never used violence against anyone, which reflected his true character.

Cheung's team also argued that the killing could not have been premeditated, saying it did not make sense that the defendant would carry it out in his own home, with his son and sister-in-law inside.

It said the killing had to do with household arguments, rather than financial reasons as claimed by the prosecution.

On Wednesday, the judge will give directions to the seven-member jury, which will then retire and decide Cheung's fate.