KEY POINTS:
One of the accused in Auckland's body in the suitcase murder trial thought he might have been kidnapped or murdered himself by his two co-accused, a jury has been told.
Cui Xiang Xin, Li Zheng and Wang Yuxin all deny charges of kidnapping and murdering Wan Biao, whose body was found in a suitcase floating on Waitemata Harbour on Good Friday last year.
The Crown says Cui and Li intended to kidnap Mr Wan for ransom and then murder him, and that Wang knew of their plan and helped them by booking a hotel room for the crime to be committed and bringing goods to them when in the room.
But Wang's lawyer, John Haigh QC, said in a brief opening address that Wang had no intention to help them.
"You will hear of a threat at an earlier stage by Cui and Li to kidnap Mr Wang," Mr Haigh told the jury at the trial at the High Court in Auckland.
"So he had some reason for acting in the way he did."
Both Li's lawyer, Peter Kaye, and Cui's lawyer, Peter Winter, told the jury to be very careful when considering the evidence of Yin Lianda.
Mr Yin was originally charged with being an accessory to murder but has been given immunity from prosecution provided he gives evidence for the Crown, and Mr Kaye and Mr Winter told the jury they needed to be careful when assessing his credibility.
Mr Kaye also said the jury needed to decide exactly what Mr Li's actions were, especially whether he took part in the strangulation which killed Mr Wan.
Mr Winter added that when considering the murder charge the jury should consider what motive there was to kill somebody if a ransom demand had been made.
The trial before Justice John Priestley is due to last four weeks.
- NZPA
