The High Court has put a retired electrician on probation for a year after he admitted killing his terminally ill wife to end her suffering.

The prosecution had originally charged Kwok Wai-yin, 59, with murdering his wife, Chan Sau-wan, who was 54 and had late stage lung cancer.

But it later amended the charge to manslaughter on the grounds of Kwok’s diminished responsibility due to serious depression.

The court heard that with his wife’s consent, Kwok put a pot of burning charcoal in her bedroom at their Ap Lei Chau home after she fell asleep on the night of January 30, 2020.

In sentencing, Justice Albert Wong described the case as a tragedy, noting that the defendant had wanted to let his wife pass away peacefully.

Wong said the case called for compassion, adding that after also taking into account the public interest and the special circumstances involved, he decided to impose a probation order on Kwok rather than a prison term.