A man who beat his girlfriend's eight-year-old autistic son so badly he had to stay in hospital for two weeks was jailed for three years and four months yesterday.
Lee Ka-ho, 28, admitted in District Court that he hit the boy with a coat-hanger, kicked him, pulled his genitals, bit his ear and pushed him into a toilet bowl.
The violent episode took place after the boy saw his mother and Lee shoplifting at a supermarket. Lee earlier pleaded guilty to child abuse.
Judge Stephen Geiser called the physical abuse shocking and said the court had a duty to protect children against attacks.
The case came to light after Lee's neighbour called the police when the boy was left alone at his flat in Yau Ma Tei on July 30.
Police found bruises and scratches on the boy's body and sent him to hospital. Lee and the mother were arrested when they returned home. The boy has fully recovered, the court heard.
The boy told a social worker that he saw Lee and his mother stealing at a supermarket.