Details "too gruesome", Hong Kong murder trial to restart with new jury

His discharge came after another juror had been let go for the same reason two days ago.

The murder case involved a man who had been accused of killing and dismembering his parents – Chau Wing-ki, 65, and Siu Yuet-yee,62 - with the help of a friend at a flat in Tai Kok Tsui on March 1 last year.

Presiding deputy judge Justice Michael Stuart-Moore told the South China Morning Post, under Hong Kong law, the trial of Henry Chau, 30, and his friend Tse Chun-kei, 36, could have gone on with five jurors.

But he said it was “impossible to continue” given the effect of the evidence on other jurors in the case, and discharged the remaining three women and two men.

They all earlier claimed what they had heard in court had affected them psychologically.

According to the judiciary website, the trial has been set for February 23 next year with nine jurors instead of the usual seven.

Last week the court was told that the elderly couple were dismembered, salted and cooked after being murdered by their son and his friend.

According to prosecutor Michael Arthur, Chau and Tse had planned the murders for months and had bought knives, refrigerators, microwave ovens and a rice cooker.

The couple’s heads and organs were found in two refrigerators, while their dismembered boxes were salted and packed into lunchboxes.

Chau’s cousin Siu Wing-kwan later testified that Chan had also wanted to travel to mainland China and kill other people as well.

She added Chau, a self-proclaimed “psychopath”, had initially wanted to commit suicide but decided he wanted to kill others instead after becoming friends with Tse.

“He had wanted to kill himself because he disliked his parents, who had too many expectations of him that he could not fulfil,” Siu said.

“He claimed his father used to hit his brother and his brother then hit him. So he also hated his brother.