Jury found murder suspect unfit to stand trial over cancer diagnosis

The jury determines a man earlier charged with murder while committing a robbery in Sham Shui Po more than 30 years ago is unfit to stand trial owing to his terminal health condition.

The incident took place in 1991 when armed individuals attempted to rob a second-hand jewellery store on Sham Shui Po's Pei Ho Street.

One of the robbers fired his gun at the time, killing a 52-year-old male staff.

This as the three criminals fled the scene without taking any of the jewellery and remained at large ever since.

32 years later, one of the suspects, 61-year-old Wen Wenye, was arrested while entering Hong Kong from the mainland in 2023.

He was charged with one count of murder and a count of attempted robbery.

The case was heard at the High Court on Thursday, during which the defence noted Wen was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, adding that the defendant suffers from cognitive impairment as a result of the disease having spread to his brain.

Judge Tam Yiu-ho told the jury they must consider whether the defendant is capable of understanding his charges, as well as his ability to plead guilty and understand the legal procedure.

If Wen is unable to perform any of such functions, he must be deemed as being unfit to stand trial.

After deliberating for over half an hour, the jury unanimously determined Wen unfit.

Representatives from the legal sector stressed Wen is not automatically cleared of his charges despite the circumstances.

They added that the defendant can still be sentenced if the jury determines that an act of murder had taken place.

In 2016, a care home resident suffering from dementia bludgeoned his roommate to death with a toilet drain cover, after which the jury deemed he was unfit to stand trial.

The former was subsequently sent to Castle Peak Hospital for further treatment.

In 2018, 93-year-old Dr. Li Wang-pong was unconditionally released owing to the jury's same decision.

He was earlier charged with manslaughter when a patient died after he performed a botox injection.