Mentally ill Hongkonger admits killing mother he mistook for ‘monster lizard’

A Hong Kong man has admitted killing his mother at a public rental flat four years ago under the delusion that she was a “monster lizard” who had pretended to be his family.Wong Chun-kit, 28, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility, after prosecutors acknowledged he had suffered a relapse of schizoaffective disorder that substantially reduced his culpability in what was originally classified as a murder case.The High Court heard that Wong, who was unemployed and relied on a monthly government allowance, had been receiving mental healthcare since 2015 for schizophrenia symptoms, including auditory hallucinations, paranoid delusions and an irritable mood.The court had ordered that the defendant undergo presentencing assessments before sentencing. Photo: Sun YeungOn November 24, 2022, Wong’s mother, Sandy Lo Choi-kiu, 50, asked community psychiatric nurses from United Christian Hospital to visit their home in Sheung Wing House of Upper Ngau Tau Kok Estate, saying the accused had assaulted her and started speaking incoherently.The jobless man left home immediately upon seeing the nurses and did not return until the following evening, after his mother filed a police report over his disappearance.Later that night, Wong told two friends by phone that he was unhappy with his mother for “making a big fuss” by calling the nurses and keeping him from meeting a woman.Relatives and hospital nurses lost contact with Lo on November 25. When an aunt and a security guard checked the flat two days later, the defendant said his mother was out and that he did not know where she was.