A TEENAGE girl who woke and found a robber in her room suffocated after being gagged and left covered by a blanket, the High Court was told yesterday.
The court also heard that six days before the raid, in 1990, robber Tsang Kai-chiu, 23, had been released from a training centre where he had served a term for burglary.
He fled Hong Kong after the killing and was only handed over to the police by Taiwanese authorities on January 30 this year.
While he pleaded guilty to a count of robbery, he denied murdering Fok Mei-po, 18, but admitted the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Sentencing him to eight years' jail, Mr Justice Saied told the court the crime was a serious one, even if the robbery could be categorised as a ''last-minute venture'', as Tsang claimed.
Prosecutor Frank Veltro told the court Fok's brother went to work at about 9.30 am on June 27, 1990, while she remained asleep at their So Uk estate home.