Hong Kong body-in-cement murder trial halted and jury dismissed as judge falls ill
Trial, which was into its 27th day, will have to begin from scratch at later date with new jury
The murder trial of three Hong Kong housemates accused of burying their victim in cement was dramatically halted and the jury dismissed on Thursday morning after the judge fell ill.
It meant the trial, which was into its 27th day, would have to be rescheduled and start from scratch before a new jury.
The first hint at this turn of events came when Madam Justice Anthea Pang Po-kam turned up at Courtroom 27 of the High Court instead of the presiding judge, Mr Justice Patrick Li Hon-leung, even before the seven jurors were called in.
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Pang told the lawyers at the bench, as well as the defendants in the dock, that her colleague was suffering from a condition that required “immediate medical attention”.
“It means that he cannot return in a short period of time,” she said, adding that the court would have no choice but to discharge the jury.
When Pang entered the courtroom, the lawyers and defendants Keith Lau, 23, and Cheung Sin-hang, 26, appeared surprised. Defendant Tsang Cheung-yan, 28, who had been feeling unwell, was absent from the Thursday hearing.
Pang wanted to break the news to the jury but was delayed as one of the jurors had gone missing. She later called the jury back into the room and officially dismissed them.
