Pupil attacked teacher at his Tin Shui Wai school

An secondary school pupil denied indecently assaulting his Chinese teacher at school, a court heard yesterday.

However, Ho Man-tai, 18, admitted he had punched the victim, tugged her hair, dashed her head against the wall and put keys into her mouth, causing her to bleed.

Ho, who was freed on bail, pleaded guilty to one count of wounding, but not guilty to one count of indecent assault at Tuen Mun Court.

Ho yesterday told the court that on November 30, he was wandering around his Tin Shui Wai school in the evening when the victim - his former class teacher - approached him to ask why he had earlier been absent from school for several days.

"I was reluctant [to talk about that with her] at that time," he said. "I felt annoyed as she had asked me [the reasons] in class, during recess and after school many times."

Ho said he eventually agreed to sit down to talk with the victim.

"[I told her] I escaped from school because a family member owed somebody money … [and] my two good friends isolated me," and his academic results were deteriorating, Ho said.

He said the bombardment of questions by the victim about his problems had touched his "bottom line", and made him furious.

When the victim asked Ho how he dealt with the pressure he was under, he said he used to "wander around campus" and "write down the unhappy things" at a secret place, the court heard.

"She kept asking me where I wrote the things down," he said. "I was unwilling to tell in the first place … but I finally agreed to take her there."

But the victim earlier told the court that Ho said he had written something bad on the wall in a room on the third floor, and deliberately guided her there.

Then he attacked her in the room, and touched her breast.

In yesterday's final submissions on the charges, defence lawyer Chan Pak-kong said the attacks were an "unpremeditated and isolated" incident, and contrary to Ho's usual behaviour.

Chan said Ho was besieged by many problems relating to his family, friendships and studies at the time. The case has been adjourned to January 30 for Deputy Magistrate Hui Chun-sing to decide on the indecent assault charge and sentencing on the wounding charge.