Jury struggles to reach verdict in former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang’s bribery case
But presiding judge Andrew Chan tells eight-member panel it is too early for split decision
Jurors at former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang Yam-kuen’s bribery trial have told the presiding judge that they are struggling to reach a consensus.
After eight and a half hours of deliberation, the jury wrote to the judge at 11.05am on Friday, saying that they were having difficulty reaching an at least 6-2 majority verdict.
“We, members of the jury, cannot reach a verdict of majority [sic] even have discussion further,” the note in English read. “We decide to ‘split’,” it continued, referring to a verdict falling short of the minimum requirement.
But High Court judge Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai noted that the jury had been sent away only shortly after noon on Thursday. “In my view, it’s still too early. There is still time for further deliberation,” he said.
The judge reiterated that the jurors should pool together their individual experiences. He then sent them back to the jury room.
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Earlier on Friday, Chan had answered two questions from the group of four men and four women, which they had advanced on Thursday night after failing to reach a verdict after seven hours.
