Man found not guilty of Melbourne Chinatown stabbing death

A waiter who stabbed a grandfather to death in Melbourne's Chinatown has been acquitted of murder.

Fai Sing Yiu, 60, was also found not guilty in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday of defensive homicide and manslaughter.

But he faces the immigration department after it was revealed he has been living illegally in Australia since the 1980s.

The jury had been told Mr Yiu stabbed Alan Wong, 64, to death in Golden Square carpark in 2014 because he feared for his life and acted in self-defence.

Mr Yiu was calm and nodded his head briefly when the verdicts were announced, but Mr Wong's relatives sobbed uncontrollably.

Mr Wong, a father of four daughters, was owed $24,000 by Mr Yiu and had called him to ask about the money, the court heard.

The jury was told Mr Yiu was a gambling addict.

Defence barrister Jarred Williams said Mr Yiu believed "loan shark" Mr Wong was part of a gang called the 14K Triad Society, so he armed himself with a knife when he went to meet him on October 29.

Mr Wong, who had had two heart attacks, used a walking stick, but left it in the car for the meeting, prosecutor Sharn Coombes told the court.

He had spent the morning visiting his grandchildren and delivering biscuits to his daughter, before going to meet Mr Yiu, who had missed his last three debt repayments, the court heard.

Ms Coombes said Mr Wong, who was carrying a bag of heart medication, could be seen on CCTV footage putting up his hands after Mr Yiu led him to a carpark and pulled out a knife.

The men fought and Mr Yiu stabbed Mr Wong eight times, the court heard.

Mr Williams said there was no dispute Yiu killed Mr Wong, but the focus was his state of mind.

"The focus of this trial turns on why Mr Yiu did what he did," he told the jury.

Mr Yiu was told he was free to go by Justice Karin Emerton, but is expected he will be dealt with by immigration authorities after he is processed by the court on Friday afternoon.