Work contractor gets 40-month jail for hitting a man with manhole cover

View Gallery 2 Photos

A renovation work contractor was sentenced to 40-month imprisonment for hitting a man who cleared road blocks with a manhole cover.

He was also ordered to pay the wounded man HK$20,000 as compensation.

Leung Kai-lok, 33, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm at the District Court for hitting a man with a drain cover at the intersection of Nathan Road and Mong Kok Road on December 1, 2019.

The victim was clearing items which blocked roads in Mong Kok before he was surrounded by around 10 protesters trying to stop him. He took out a mobile phone and tried to film the protesters, then he was hit by the defendant and lost consciousness.

He woke about a minute later and was sent to Kwong Wah Hospital, where he got 10 stitches for a 4-centimeter wound on the left side of his head. His left forearm was also bruised.

The defendant, arrested by the police on December 31, 2019, admitted under caution that he attacked the man thinking he was one of the “white shirts” planning to hurt teenagers.

Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung said Leung attacked a man of good conscious with a vicious means, and the court has to send a clear message to the public that such action won’t be tolerated by the court and society.

It was turbulent in Hong Kong back in 2019, when protesters attempted to use violence to make government operations come to a halt. The victim tried to make the plan fail by clearing the road blocks, but his “selfless act” was stopped by the defendant, the judge said.

Leung used a hard object to attack a person's most fragile body part, with the aim of doing the biggest harm within the shortest period of time, Lin said.

He denounced his wicked action, saying it aimed at intimidating normal citizens and to help violent protesters.

The judge dismissed Leung's testimony that he thought the victim was holding a sharpened object.

According to a footage capturing the assault, the victim was holding something rectangular in shape and did not take any action when he was threatened, Lin said.

Although defense said Leung was a kind man, Lin said it failed to explain why he resorted to attacking a good Samaritan.

Leung also faced a count of rioting and another of using facial cover in an unlawful assembly. The charges will be left on court file.

The police welcomed the judgment, saying it represents the seriousness of the case and has a deterrent effect. They emphasized that problems cannot be solved by violence and any violent acts will not be tolerated.
×