The defendants had committed a robbery. In the process, they tied up and stabbed a person, who died from ligature strangulation. It was possible that the defendants did not intend to kill the victim. Nevertheless, they received mandatory life imprisonment sentences for murder. The defendants appealed the life imprisonment sentence, as they claimed they lacked the necessary culpability for murder. On appeal at the Court of Final Appeal, the Court rejected these claims and upheld the life imprisonment sentences. In so doing, the Court compared Hong Kong’s Bill of Rights with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Nevertheless, the life imprisonment sentences remained.

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