After 8 years in jail, OFW cleared of murdering HK employers

A former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) was acquitted Wednesday of charges that he murdered his former employers in their Hong Kong residence in 2003. Magno Cruz Manalili, who was extradited to Hong Kong last year for the murder of the American expatriate couple, was cleared after a jury deliberated for 23 hours. However, Manalili, 41, has to remain in police custody pending his repatriation to the Philippines, Hong Kong's "The Standard" newspaper reported on Thursday. The former OFW broke down in tears after the jury gave its not guilty verdict, the report said. "He also raised both fists and clasped his hands as if expressing gratitude to the jury," the Standard said. Manalili had denied stabbing his US expatriate employers at their Ping Tau village home and hiding their bodies in a storeroom. The helper, who owed HK$40,000 (P222,613) at the time, left Hong Kong a day after the deaths of Ng Ka-mong and Sun King-man, both aged 54. Manalili was arrested in the Philippines in December 2003 after Hong Kong police sought help from the International Police Organization (Interpol). He was extradited to Hong Kong in June 2004. Disappointed over the decision A friend of the couple, surnamed Tang, expressed disappointment over the verdict and said the victims' family may seek further legal action in a higher court, the report said. Several of the victims' relatives were in court but reportedly refused to take questions from reporters. Sun was the daughter of renowned historian Sun Kuo-tung, former dean of the Faculty of Arts at the Chinese University's New Asia College. According to the report, the investigation showed the bodies of the victims, who were both secondary school history teachers, were discovered after a number of unanswered phone calls. The couple, who suffered defensive injuries, were each stabbed about 10 times. Earlier, the court heard Manalili had long maintained a good relationship with his employers, and there was no police evidence to show he was the killer. - VVP, GMA News