Dieting leads to death: Hong Kong man beat his girlfriend to death while on a diet and was found guilty of manslaughter
A Hong Kong man has been found not guilty of manslaughter but not guilty of murdering his girlfriend, with jurors accepting his claim that he may have accidentally beaten her to death while trying to keep her awake to help her lose weight.A High Court jury on Friday found by a majority of 5 to 2 that 29-year-old Ng Jiasheng was not guilty of murdering his 30-year-old partner Ye Zheng in their apartment in Hung Shui Kiu four years ago. However, the jury unanimously convicted Wu of manslaughter.Ms Justice Judianna Barnes said the verdict showed the jury believed Wu was probably correct in his contention that he accidentally beat Ms Ye to death while she was on an intensive diet.
Killings and discovery of bodies
In the early morning of April 29, 2022, someone saw Wu pulling a wheel carrying Ye’s body, which was wrapped in a quilt, plastic film and tape, driving along Tianxia Road. A couple jogging in the area called police after seeing a human leg sticking out of a rolled up quilt.Forensic examination found that the deceased was 1.59 meters tall and weighed 64 kilograms when he was alive, and 55% of his body had suffered extensive corrosion burns. She also had multiple bruises, abrasions and lacerations on her head and other parts of her body, likely from blunt force.An autopsy determined her cause of death was asphyxiation following a head injury and extensive burns to her chest, abdomen and extremities.
Ng Enda defended: “I hit her by mistake”
In an interview with police, Wu said his partner was on a diet and he had been trying to help her lose weight by beating her and keeping her from sleeping. He said that before the incident, Mr. Ye was banned from leaving the apartment for three months and was deprived of sleep for more than ten days.Wu admitted beating his partner with a stick intermittently starting on the night of April 27, but insisted he only did it to keep her awake. He also claimed the deceased had a tendency to harm herself, saying she had poured a bottle of drain cleaner on herself that night “just for fun”.Ng told the witness box that Yip’s sworn sister, whose family shared a flat with the couple, asked him to attack Yip after the deceased was accused of eating without permission while on a diet. The defendant claimed that he was forced to obey the orders of his sworn sisters and their husband, who abused him on several occasions.At one point he took off his shirt to show jurors the scars on his body, which he said were burned by Q-tips injected with drain cleaner.Wu said he was “very scared” on the morning of April 28 when he realized Ms. Ye was dead. “I don’t know why she died. My mind goes blank.” I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I held her in my arms and told her I was sorry. “The defendant said the sworn sisters suggested that he dispose of Yip’s body by burying, cremating or dismembering it, but Wu believed that none of these options were feasible. He finally decided to carry Ye’s body wrapped in a quilt to the street, hoping to surrender to the police.After being arrested at 6:36 a.m., Wu said: “This is my girlfriend. I mistakenly beat her to death with a stick.”
Sentence is about to be pronounced
The court heard mitigating submissions will be heard on Monday. The judge noted that in a case of this nature the risk of the defendant re-offending was “extremely low” but added that she needed more information about Ng’s character before imposing sentence.Wu pleaded guilty to preventing the legal burial of Yip’s body before trial. He also offered to plead guilty to manslaughter, but that was not accepted by prosecutors.
