Trung The Ma’s appeal to have murder conviction downgraded for death of Hugo Bonham denied

A financial planner who used a hammer to bludgeon his victim to death will remain in jail after unsuccessfully trying to appeal his conviction.

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A FINANCIAL planner tried to get his murder conviction downgraded because he had a blackout and could not remember picking up the hammer used to bludgeon his victim to death.

Trung The Ma killed Gold Coast man Huegio Bonham, 63, in February 2014 after Mr Bonham discovered Ma had embezzled more than $700,000 from him.

In 2018, a Supreme Court jury found Ma guilty of murder and interfering with a corpse. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Ma, who was 35 when convicted, took the decision to the Court of Appeal, arguing mental health issues.

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Indooroopilly businessman Trung The Ma, 35, was in 2018 convicted by a jury of the murder of Huegio Bonham at Tallai, on the Gold Coast in 2014.

He said he felt like he was talking to his father just before he attacked Mr Bonham, “the room became blindingly bright, time slowed down”, felt as if he was “outside of myself looking at myself” and did not remember picking up the hammer.

The Court of Appeal last week rejected Ma’s story, backing the Crown’s case at trial that Ma was “switched on and on the ball”.

Court of Appeal Justice Walter Sofronoff said the only real issue at trial was Ma’s state of mind during the murder and it was up to Ma to prove he was not of sound mind.

In Court of Appeal documents, Ma’s lawyers tried to argue there was an error at trial because the jury had not been warned that the evidence of Ma’s bad character and violent disposition was not enough to convict him.

Huegio Bonham.

However, the Court of Appeal found appropriate instructions had been given to the jury.

Mr Bonham had been using Ma’s financial advisory business and in January 2014 wanted to withdraw money to pay for a house.

Mr Bonham did not know at that stage Ma had embezzled the money.

Ma went to Mr Bonham’s Gold Coast home a month later and, after a discussion, bludgeoned him to death with a hammer.

The Court of Appeal judgment states that Ma told his psychiatrist that he felt like he was talking to his father just before he attacked Mr Bonham.

“I don’t think I was actually seeing my father’s face, but that was how it felt, because I knew I was speaking to Hugo Bonham, but increasingly it did feel as if my father was present in the room …,” Ma said.

“Then the room became blindingly bright, time slowed down in slow motion. It was a very strange experience. I felt as if I was outside of myself looking at myself.”

Ma told his psychiatrist that he could hear himself asking why he didn’t stop and did not remember picking up the hammer.

“I can recall three strikes to his head,” Ma said.

“When I realised he was dead everything suddenly snapped back into real time from slow motion and I knew my life was over.”

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