A 35-year-old clerk in Hong Kong stabbed and cut his father more than 80 times at their home after an argument. He has said he was not responsible for the killing because he was mentally ill.
Lee Man-lok pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at the High Court on Thursday. The victim, his father Lee Hok-choi, 78, died from the attack on October 11, 2021.
The prosecution reduced the original murder charge after three psychiatrists found that Lee’s ability to make rational decisions and control himself was greatly affected by schizophrenia.
When asked if he agreed with the prosecution’s summary, Lee said he did but added, “Because this is due to my mental illness [prompting me to] kill my father, I think this is not my fault.”
Judge Anthony Kwok Kai-on viewed this statement as a plea for leniency and told Lee to leave any further remarks to his lawyers.
At the time of the incident, Lee was living in a rehabilitation hostel in Nam Cheong after being discharged from a psychiatric hospital. His family had lived in Kwai Chung’s Yin Lai Court for about 30 years.
The victim’s neighbor called the police around 4:40 p.m. after hearing screams from the family flat.
Police and paramedics arrived shortly afterward. They found Lee Hok-choi unconscious and bleeding in the living room. Lee Man-lok sat motionless on a sofa with two bloodied fruit knives nearby.
Lee told police that his father pushed him during an argument about work, and he then stabbed him with the knives, which he had bought for his father.
The victim was pronounced dead early the next day at the hospital after family members agreed to stop life support.
The autopsy revealed more than 80 cuts and stab wounds, mainly on the head and upper limbs.
Investigators found that Lee bought two fruit knives and a pair of scissors from supermarkets shortly before the attack, arriving at the home around 4:34 p.m.
Lee was first diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder in 2009. In 2016, after hospitalization for suicidal thoughts, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
He reported hearing voices urging him to kill his family. Despite regular medical care, he continued to have paranoid fears that his parents would poison his food.
Sentencing has been postponed until September 25 to allow for further psychiatric evaluation of Lee.
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