A mainland Chinese man who chopped his wife and son was acquitted on Monday of two charges of wounding with intent, after the judge found him to be delusional and affected by paranoid schizophrenia.
District Court Judge Josiah Lam declared Ke Xiangzhao from Shenzhen not guilty on the grounds of insanity, citing a medical expert witness who reported Ke didn’t understand the ramifications of his actions.
Then-45-year-old Ke attacked his wife and their son in November 2014 at their home in To Kwa Wan, by cutting them on their heads with a 12-inch-long chopper knife.
The mother and son tried to flee, but were chased down by Ke, who continued to chop them again outside of a shoe shop on Ma Tau Chung Road. According to the SCMP, CCTV footage taken outside of the shop shows the child being hacked 14 times on camera.
At the time, it was reported that the boy’s nose was almost completely chopped off.
The court heard on Monday that Ke believed his wife had cheated on him and that he was not the biological father of their son, who was born in Hong Kong. Ke was reportedly also delusional, having believed that the boy attacked him.
Both mother and son have since sustained facial and head injuries, while Ke has been detained at a psychiatric centre pending further reports on his mental condition.
Under Section 74 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, a person found to be “insane” at the time an offence is committed is not responsible for their actions, and can be acquitted of their charges by reason of insanity.
The next court hearing is scheduled for March 1.
Editor’s note: The title has been changed.
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