Pinoy cleared in Hong Kong double murder

HONG KONG – A male Filipino domestic helper has been cleared of the 2003 double murder of an American couple whom he worked for in Hong Kong, local radio RTHK reported yesterday.

The report said jurors unanimously acquitted Magno Cruz Manalili over the stabbing deaths of the couple after 23 hours of deliberation.

A court official could not be immediately reached to confirm the jury’s verdict. Manalili’s trial in Hong Kong’s High Court started last month.

The 41-year-old accused had denied murdering Ng Ka-mong, 54, and Sun King-man, 54, who were both secondary school teachers of Chinese descent, according to reports.

Manalili fled to the Philippines soon after the April 2003 killings but was extradited back to Hong Kong last June.

He was arrested in the northern Philippines in 2004, but fought a Hong Kong police extradition request before eventually agreeing to be sent to the territory for trial. – Carina Roncesvalles, AFP