A 39-year-old Gambian man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his 40-year-old Filipino wife.

Ousainou Touray, 39, was found guilty of murder by all seven jurors after deliberations that lasted 15 hours. High Court judge Alex Lee Wan-tang sentenced Ousainou to life imprisonment.

He turned himself to police on April 10, after claiming to have found his wife, Adele Melano Cuyacot, 40, dead after he had woken up from fighting with her.

Ousainou arrived in Hong Kong in 2012 on a recognisance form issued by the Immigration Department. 

Testifying in court, one neighbour said Ousainou fought his wife in the early hours and in the morning on April 9 as loud noise came out of their flat. But the neighbor didn’t hear anything from their flat after around noon on that day.

Ousainou turned himself to police carrying three suitcases on the evening on April 10. He was also arrested, as officers found a blood stain on two fingers on his right hand and arrested him for murder under police caution.

Ousainou admitted to fighting with Cuyacot, but added that he was just defending himself, as his wife had been more emotional than usual at the time. 

He also said he had forgoten whether or not he had assaulted Cuyacot, as the situation was chaotic back then. 

However, he pointed out that it is likely that his wife was hit by a cabinet.

Ousainou claimed that he and his wife went to sleep together after the fight and that he found Cuyacot dead when he woke up the next day. 

He then prayed to Allah, wrapped Cuyacot’s body with a bed sheet and placed a Quran on top of her body.

He also told officers he is a Muslim and he and his wife moved into the flat on Pang Ching Street in To Kwa Wan in February 2019.

Earlier in court, Ousainou said Cuyacot knew he had had two other wives before they got married, and she had not asked him to divorce the two other wives. 

However, they argued a lot over the two other wives after they got married.