Hong Kong man, 74, found guilty of manslaughter for strangling daughter

An elderly man has been convicted of manslaughter for strangling his daughter in Hong Kong three years ago after a jury accepted he was provoked into committing the act.

A High Court jury of three men and four women on Thursday unanimously cleared security guard Chan Kwai-sang, 74, of murdering his daughter Chan Hang-sze, 32, but convicted him of the lesser charge of manslaughter on the basis of her provocation.

The trial heard the defendant had frequent quarrels with his daughter and ex-wife over trivial matters when they lived together at a flat in Mong Kok’s Hoi Fu Court in the lead-up to the killing on March 7, 2022.

According to the defendant, his jobless daughter, who had autism and bipolar disorder, prevented him from going to the toilet in the early hours that day, forcing him to use the kitchen instead.

The victim later woke the accused and repeatedly blamed him for not flushing the toilet and putting his slippers in the incorrect place. The father claimed he was scolded for nearly two hours, during which his daughter also hit him with an umbrella eight to 10 times.

The elder Chan said he had thought things over for an hour before strangling his daughter in her sleep before daybreak.