A man accused of murdering his ex-wife with a hunting knife in broad daylight on a suburban West Auckland street says he never thought about hurting her, or using a knife to stab her.
Li Manchao. Photo: RNZ / Anneke Smith
Li Manchao is on trial in the High Court at Auckland after pleading not guilty to murder and breaching a protection order.
The 65-year-old is accused of attacking his ex-wife Yang Zhimin on Westgate Drive, Massey, about 8.30am on 29 July, 2019.
It is the Crown's case Li planned and prepared to kill Yang after the High Court ruled against him in a marital property dispute.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard Yang was stabbed 12 times in the face, neck, chest, stomach and arms on the suburban street and died at the scene.
Giving evidence via an interpreter, Li told the court about how he and Yang came to New Zealand in the early 2000s.
Questioned by defence lawyer Sam Wimsett, Li said he and Yang told immigration they were married, but he admitted it was not a real marriage.
They had an arrangement where Li would pay the costs of the immigration application, and once they were successful, he would pay her a further amount.
Li said not long after their citizenship or residency was confirmed in 2004, the pair separated.
That sparked a series of legal disputes between them.
Asked by Wimsett whether the financial arrangement they agreed to happened as planned, Li said it hadn't.
He said while he paid her the initial amount, Yang asked for more money.
"To be honest, it was my own fault," Li said through the interpreter. "If I paid her this money everything would be all right."
Li's mental health deteriorated after he separated from Yang. He briefly moved to Australia and at one point returned to China for treatment.
He said he had been admitted to hospital many times after suffering mental breakdowns and was prescribed anti-depressants.
He also twice attempted suicide.
Wimsett asked Li about his mental state in the days before Yang's death. Li said he had stopped taking his medication and he did not think he was sleeping.
Asked by Wimsett how he felt, Li said he would sometimes feel "very, very dizzy in my head".
"I can't describe it, I just felt really bad."
Li said it felt like he had "so many people" arguing in his head and he found it difficult to "find any peace".
Asked whether he had ever thought about hurting or stabbing Yang, Li said he never had.
He said he did not remember stabbing Yang and he could not accept he murdered her.
"If the police brought one of those lie detecting machines, they would get an accurate result."
Wimsett asked whether he accepted that he did stab Yang.
"I do accept that, so many people saw that, so it must be a fact," Li said.
Under cross-examination by Crown prosecutor Nick Webby, Li was asked about the hunting knife that was used to stab Yang.
Li said in China, a knife would be considered a souvenir and an impressive gift.
"It's a souvenir that you used to stab someone, isn't it?" Webby asked.
"When it is used to stab someone it is no longer a souvenir, it is a knife," Li said.
Questioned further by Webby, Li maintained that he never intended to kill Yang.
Li said he did not remember stabbing her and he repeatedly said he never planned her killing.
While he was angry about their long-running legal dispute, Li said his anger was not directed at Yang and instead it was directed at the police.
Li said he did not hate Yang and in fact he respected her.
Li disputed evidence given earlier in the trial by his former flatmate. He said he had never referred to Yang as "the bitch" and he did not talk about trying to get his revenge.
Li also admitted that he did not believe the protection order Yang took out against him was legal.
He said he did not respect it, because they were not husband and wife.
Li said after the order was served on him, he tried to challenge it because he thought it breached the law.
During the cross-examination, CCTV footage of Li purchasing the knife at a Hunting and Fishing store was played to the court.
Li said when he bought the knife, he had no plans to kill Yang.
He said he looked happy in the footage because he had got the knife for a good price.
The trial continues.
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