A cannabis grower who stabbed a man and left him to bleed to death has been found guilty of manslaughter.
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Thang Minh Ho, 55, argued he was acting in self defence when he stabbed Cuong Van Le on the morning of April 28, 2021.
A Victorian Supreme Court jury deliberated for five hours before reaching a guilty verdict on Friday afternoon.
Ho had gone to a factory in Melbourne suburb Epping to confront Mr Le over claims he was not paid correctly after leaving the cannabis operation.
Mr Le answered the door holding a pruning knife, which Ho grabbed off him before stabbing the 52-year-old in his upper thigh.
The blade went all the way through Mr Le's leg, slicing his femoral artery.
Ho left the scene and two other men drove Mr Le to hospital but he died from rapid blood loss.
Ho pleaded not guilty to Mr Le's manslaughter, with his barrister Michael Turner arguing the 55-year-old acted in self defence.
Mr Turner conceded Ho was aggrieved and planned to "smash up" the factory over the underpayment, but said he didn't go to the site armed with a weapon.
Crown prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams argued Ho was the aggressor and that he told police it was normal for Mr Le to be holding a pruning knife.
After five days of evidence, the jury went out for the deliberations about 11am on Friday and returned their verdict at 4pm.
Ho was remanded in custody ahead of his pre-sentence hearing in February.
Australian Associated Press
