HKSAR v. Valencia Bernie Macatangay

HCCC 226/2023

[2025] HKCFI 1647

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 226 OF 2023

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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1.You were charged with one count of murder of Quiabang Ivy Villaluz (the deceased)  and you pleaded not guilty to the count but offered to plead guilty to manslaughter. That proposed plea was not acceptable to the prosecution and a trial was held. You were found guilty of murder after trial by the jury with a majority vote of 6 to 1.

2.The incident of murder took place on 22 December 2021 in the evening.  The deceased was your girlfriend and the two of you had gone to a Christmas party together in Central.  You both consumed alcohol and at the end of the party, a quarrel took place between the two of you and because of that, you two were asked by your friends there to leave.  The deceased was clearly displeased by the way you had treated her and she walked away from you at a quick pace and left you behind in your journey back to the flat in Wanchai where you two cohabitated. 

3.By the time you got home which was about 8:46 pm, your flat-mate overheard that you shouted in your room at the deceased in a loud voice and questioned her as to why she had left you there.  You were fed up with her and possibly under the influence of alcohol, you struck the deceased repeatedly in her head and other parts of her body.  As a result of your blows, the deceased lost consciousness. 

4.On the next day, the deceased was still unconscious, and despite steps that you took to treat and care for her, she did not wake up.  She was in a coma when the ambulance arrived to take her to the hospital for emergency treatment.  A CT scan was performed on the deceased and it showed, among other injuries, right parietal intracerebral haematoma, bruise swellings on both sides of her face and multiple bruises on her arms.  Despite all the emergency operations and medical treatments that were conducted on her, the deceased eventually passed away on 2 January 2022.

5.Judging by the guilty verdict, the jury must have found the existence of a murderous intent on your part despite the possible influence of alcohol when you struck the deceased. Your vicious attack on her resulted in the traumatic injuries to her head which eventually led to her demise on 2 January 2022.

6.There was evidence before the court that initially you and the deceased had been happy at the Christmas party but it was tragic that a rather trivial argument at the end of the party led to the murderous acts on that fateful evening, which you regretted on the next day.

7.Your counsel Mr. Arthur did not and could not advance any mitigations on your behalf, a sentence of life imprisonment being mandatory for murder.  Accordingly, you are sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder that you committed. 

Ms Lam Hiu Man, Human, SPP and Mr Chow Ho Fung, Martin, SPP (Ag.)  of the Department of Justice, for the Prosecution

Mr Michael Arthur, instructed by Eric Cheung & Lau, assigned by DLA for the Defendant