Abnormal Homicide in Hong Kong

Abstract

The different classifications of homicide used make comparative studies difficult. For our purposes we will sub-divide homicide as follows: (i) ‘Abnormal homicide’, comprising (a) ‘murder-suicide’ in which the murder suspect commits suicide, and (b) ‘abnormal murder’, comprising cases where (i) the murder suspect is mentally ill, or (ii) the court returns a verdict of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. (2) ‘Normal homicide’, a term we will use synonymously with ‘normal murder’, i.e. murder committed by the mentally normal.