Third trial of passion in 12 months
Yesterday's case involving Chan Lai-ching was the third trial in Hong Kong to feature the unusual crime of passion since December last year.
On December 4 last year, Lam Yuk-kam, 42, who pleaded guilty to cutting off the penis of her two-timing husband, was released after spending nine months in prison when her spouse, Chu Chi-lik, 41, made a plea for leniency in the Court of First Instance.
Mr Chu had an operation to re-attach his penis.
In August this year, Poon Shuk-yee, 27, was jailed for 4.5 years after she severed her boyfriend's penis with a paper cutter when he tried to end their relationship.
A Court of First Instance jury found her guilty of one charge of wounding Chan Chi-keung, 35, with intent.
The emergence of such crimes in Hong Kong comes after the case widely believed to have started a worldwide trend - the lurid trial of Lorena Bobbitt in the United States.
In 1993, the former nail technician was arrested for cutting off her husband's penis while he slept.
It was surgically re-attached and John Wayne Bobbitt later embarked on a short-lived career as a porn star.
