Accused in mistress murder case cleared after Hong Kong court rules trial judge misdirected jury
Jury had found married director guilty of murder even though there was no body, no forensic evidence and no confession
Hong Kong’s first successful murder conviction without a body, forensic evidence or a confession was on Wednesday quashed by an appeal court which found the trial judge had misdirected the jury through a “rather surprising” omission.
The Court of Appeal cleared Ivan Chan Man-sum after its three-judge panel concluded that Mr Justice Michael Stuart-Moore had failed to direct the jury accurately and adequately on the drawing of inferences in a case where prosecutors relied solely on circumstantial evidence.
The higher court noted the direction – that was delivered just before jurors began their deliberation – failed to explain that an inference against the defendant could only be drawn if it was “the only reasonable inference.”
“It is rather surprising that the judge did not direct the jury in those very simple terms,” Mr Justice Michael Lunn wrote on behalf of Mr Justice Andrew Macrae and Mr Justice Ian McWalters. “The judge’s directions were material misdirections.”
Police previously said the conviction was the first of its kind since the British set up open courts in the city.
