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JULIE CHU

Eddie Lee

Veteran former newspaper editor Kevin Lau Chun-to urged police to find the mastermind behind the brazen knife attack he suffered last year as his two assailants were convicted by the High Court yesterday.
The jury of three women and four men took only three hours to reach a unanimous verdict, finding Yip Kim-wah and Wong Chi-wah, both aged 39, guilty on a joint count of causing grievous bodily harm to Lau on February 26 last year.
They also found the pair guilty of stealing a motorcycle used in the attack, while Yip was convicted of one more theft count for stealing a vehicle licence.
Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping adjourned sentencing to August 21.
Kwong Suk-ching, officer in charge of crime for Hong Kong Island, said the case was still under investigation but refused to comment on whether more people would be arrested.
After the proceedings, Lau told the media: "I believe it's a just verdict."
The former editor of Ming Pao still believes the attack was related to his journalism.
"I said last year and I am of the same view today that I see nothing in my personal life that may possibly trigger such a violent attack on me," he said.
Lau said the verdict had reversed the trend of the past two decades that whenever a journalist was attacked, no one was brought to justice.

He said the verdict had helped relieve the "chilling effect" on the profession and urged police to continue to investigate until the mastermind was hunted down.
"Only then will the shadow cast on journalists by this violent attack be lifted. And the public will regain their confidence in press freedom," he added.
Lau was attacked at Tai On Street, Sai Wan Ho, in broad daylight last year.
Police found Yip and Wong had been following Lau for some time before the attack. They fled to the mainland a few hours after the crime, but were arrested by public security officers on March 8 last year and handed over to Hong Kong police 10 days later.
Although the pair maintained they were forced to confess under threats and torture by mainland officers, they were familiar with details of the attack.
Yip claimed someone whom he would not name had offered HK$100,000 each to him and his accomplice to attack Lau. Wong agreed to join him.
They searched for information on Lau, following him from his office to his home for weeks. They also stole a motorcycle and agreed Yip would ride it while Wong would knife Lau. They claimed they did not know Lau, nor why he was targeted.
Lau suffered large and deep cut wounds on his back and legs.
He said yesterday he was still receiving treatment as he had no feeling on the soles of his feet and could not move his toes. But he no longer needed a crutch or walking stick.
Additional reporting by Chris Lau.
 


Hong Kong journalist Kevin Lau demands hunt for mastermind behind attack as pair are convicted of knifing him

Former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau Chun-to meets the media after the adjudication on his assaulting case. Photo: Sam Tsang

Ming Pao editor Kevin Lau outside court. Photo: Sam Tsang

A suspect (centre) escorted to the Sai Wan Ho waterfront to help reconstruct the alleged attack on Kevin Lau in March, 2014. Photo: David Wong

Chinese government 'needed a confession', suspect in journalist Kevin Lau's attack tells court

Accused Wong Chi-wah is taken to a court hearing. Photo: Sam Tsang

Beijing ‘wanted to avoid assault of journalist Kevin Lau becoming politicised’, court hears

Yip Kim-wah, 39, is one of two defendants facing charges over a chopping attack on former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau last year. Photo: David Wong

Knifemen offered HK$100,000 each to attack former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau, court hears

Former Ming Pao chief editor Kelvin Lau arrives at the High Court on Wednesday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Kevin Lau Chun-to - a Hong Kong journalist at the centre of a storm

The scene of the knife attack on Kevin Lau Chun-to. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

NeoDemocrats hold a vigil outside the hospital where Lau is being treated. Photo: Dickson Lee