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Sau Mau Ping gang murder
Sau Ming Road Park (pictured) opened up after Block 39 of Sau Mau Ping Estate, where the murder happened, was demolished
Location	Sau Mau Ping Estate, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
Date	May 14, 1997; 27 years ago (1997-05-14)
Weapons	Iron pipes, folding chairs, etc.
Deaths	1 (Luk Chi-wai)
Injured	1 (Chan Muk-ching)
Assailants	Local teen gang
Accused	14
Verdict	13 convicted, 1 pleaded guilty
Convictions	Murder Grievous bodily harm Preventing the lawful burial of a body
Case number: HCCC 433/97 & 8/98

Sau Mau Ping gang murder is a Hong Kong torture-murder in 1997, in which a 16-year-old died following assaults by a group of 14 teenagers aged between 14 and 17. The gang later burnt the corpse as well. Six were convicted of murder in the lower court, making this the largest group of underage murderers. This remains one of the most notorious teen gang attacks, and raised awareness on youth lawlessness.

Background

Sau Mau Ping Estate, a crowded housing estate with 45 blocks at its peak, was first built in the 1960s and managed by the Housing Authority. Starting from the 1990s, the estate was gradually rebuilt. Block 39, where the gang murdered the teen, was included in the redevelopment plan in 1997, and hence most of the flats had been vacated.

Attack

The teens accused and the victim were residents of Sau Mau Ping Estate, usually gathered at a youth centre in the estate or at 30-year-old Chan Muk-ching's home, a janitor nicknamed "Third Uncle". Chan was bullied by the gang due to his mild intellectual disability, prompting Luk Chi-wai, a 16-year-old teen, to repeatedly suggest Chan to find police for help.

Angered by his betrayal, the gang lured Luk to Chan's flat (Flat 1508 of Block 39) at night and subsequently tortured him. Luk was forced to kneel before Guan Yu's statute and read aloud triad's mottos, before the gang assaulted him one by one. Luk was beaten by different weapons such as iron pipes and folding chairs, and was forced to eat cigarettes butts. Chairs were stacked on him, and later his head was being bumped into the wall and onto the floor. The assailants poured freezing water on fainted Luk to awaken him, who begged for a stop but to no avail. The gang finally attempted to save Luk who had passed out but failed, leaving him to his own death. Attempting to cover up the murder, the teenagers threatened Chan not to tell on them, while packing Luk's body into a cardboard box. After moving the box to the vacated Block 32, they splashed sulphur and burnt the corpse twice as it was not turned into ashes. The rubbish bag containing the ashes was later disposed at the trash point.

Also abused by the gang, Chan went to a hospital for medical treatment, where the police discovered his suspicious injuries. The case was eventually uncovered following a police investigation, and 14 were arrested in the ensuing two weeks. Luk's body can never be recovered as it had already been buried in a landfill.

Trial and appeal

The defense cited a professor at University of Hong Kong and argued that the youths did not intend to kill anyone and regret their brutality. The lawyer claimed they were deceived by violent scenes in films and cartoons that their tortures were not lethal. The prosecution however did not accept a plea deal of manslaughter and insisted on pursuing murder charges. The defense then sought for a more non-life imprisonment from the judge, which could be granted to those who were underage.

Following a year-long trial, the 9-member jury convicted 6 defendants with murder in January 1999. Presiding judge Michael Wong Kin-chow (王見秋) said instead of instant kill by stabbing or shooting, the defendants tortured Luk in various ways for three hours until he died in grave pain, which proved their intent to murder by grievous bodily harm. Wong conceded imprisoning teenagers were tragic, but he would be acting in contrary if not handing down verdicts proportionate to the horrendous and serious nature of this torture-murder.

In a courtroom packed with weeping families and friends, Hui Chi-wai, Ng Ming-chun, Chan Tak-ming, and Fu Hin-chun were sentenced to life imprisonment. Denouncing the "horrific, brutal and vicious" nature of the case, justice Wong declined to use any of his discretion and said he would not pity them, just as they did not sympathise with Luk when he was dying and under their murderous attack. The other two convicted with murder were jailed for 23 and 26 years as the judge considered their limited involvement and young age respectively.

Five other gang members were found guilty of grievous bodily harm or other less serious offences, and had been remanded in custody for 21 months. In the verdict, justice Wong said he did not wish to further sanction the teens and decided to release them immediately, adding that they should thank the jury for acquitting their murder charges, and to the prosecutors for giving them a way out. Yuen Kit-yee, who the attorney said was under the influence of her boyfriend Ng Ming-chun, and Wong Shi-shing, who tried to stop others torturing Luk Chi-wai, were sentenced to training centre for their limited involvement.

Shek Chi-kin, who testified for the prosecution against other defendants, was praised by Wong for fully cooperating with the police. The judge said he believed the prosecution witness felt genuinely remorseful for his actions, and encouraged him to reform himself. She was sentenced to 7 years in prison after admitting manslaughter and preventing lawful burial.

"This is a very tragic case, tragic that an innocent young boy lost his life and tragic that a number of young men are going to lose their liberty for a long, long time."

Wong made an impassioned plea for society to learn from the tragedy, urging parents and the authorities to curb an undercurrent of youth violence.

The six convicted murders successfully appealed in 2001. The court overturned Mak Ka-ho's murder conviction and reduced his jail term to seven years for grievous bodily harm. Wong Kam-po was commuted to 19-year in prison, and Ng Ming-chun to 25-year. Justice Wong assigned a minimum term for Hui, Chan, and Fu which permitted them to lodge an appeal of sentencing only after serving the minimum term. While admitting his oversight, Michael Wong insisted that "bodies would scatter everywhere" without deterrent sanctions, and a civilised society would never allow such barbaric acts. He defended the sentences as heavy prices necessary for their actions.

Aftermath

The murder case was reenacted in 1999 horror movie Street Kids Violence, starring Jones Soong Pounh-chong, Lam Tsz-sin, Lee Kin-yan, Astrid Chan, and others.

Lau Pui-yee, one of those convicted, jumped to death in Shun Tin Estate, near Sau Mau Ping Estate, on Christmas Day in 2007 after loosing the job and her partner and leaving a note of "unhappy".

References

1. "東網光影：1997年秀茂坪童黨殺人燒屍" (in Chinese). 東方日報. 2017-05-14. Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
2. "圖說往昔－秀茂坪童黨燒屍案" (in Chinese). 頭條日報. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
3. 徐文珍 (1999-01-29). "代表律師引述港大教授報告 童黨行為模仿「古惑仔」" (in Chinese). 星島日報. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
4. ^ "Six get life for torture-murder". South China Morning Post. 1999-01-31. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
5. 徐文珍 (1999-01-31). "燒屍案四魔童囚終身" (in Chinese). 星島日報. Archived from the original on 2020-10-31. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
6. 徐文珍 (1999-01-28). "燒屍案六兇徒謀殺罪成 另七人鈕判誤殺傷人有罪 今由律師代求情" (in Chinese). 星島日報. Archived from the original on 2020-10-31. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
7. "兩被告獲輕判入教導所" (in Chinese). 文匯報. 1999-02-13. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
8. "秀茂坪童黨燒屍 4人囚終身" (in Chinese). 蘋果日報. 2018-07-15. Archived from the original on 2018-07-29. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
9. "97年秀茂坪童黨燒屍案 後改編為電影《三五成群》" (in Chinese). 星島日報. Archived from the original on 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
10. "任職啤酒女郎 疑聖誕節男友提分手 燒屍案女被告情變跳樓死" (in Chinese). 蘋果日報. 2007-12-26. Archived from the original on 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2020-01-31.

External readings

• HKSAR v Hui Chi Wai & Others HKCA 216, HKCA 218, HKCA 219 (On appeal)

• 1990s murders in Hong Kong
• Sau Mau Ping
• 1997 in Hong Kong
• Murder committed by minors