Hong Kong marketing worker stabbed female boss he blamed for girlfriend and money trouble
A man who blamed his former boss for being dumped by his girlfriend and running up debts stabbed her in the neck on a busy Mong Kok street in broad daylight, a court heard yesterday.
Ho Man-hung, 20, admitted attacking Wong Yee-ping, a 21-year-old sales manager, with the 20cm weapon in Argyle Street.
Judge Amanda Woodcock told Ho he should feel lucky that Wong had recovered after emergency surgery and that he was not up on a murder charge.
"If he had cut a bit further, he might have killed her," she told Ho's barrister, Mohammed Shah.
The District Court heard that Wong was head of Ho's team at marketing firm Loyal Image Consultant. Shah said the company used aggressive tactics to sell beauty products and services. Ho's failure to meet a quota meant he had to buy back products, leaving him laden with debts, even though his superiors still earned commissions.
Under police caution, Ho blamed "troublemaker" Wong for his loan problems and said she encouraged his girlfriend, Tang Yi-man, to leave him.
He said he planned to use the knife to scare Wong but had chosen an "extreme method" and lacked the self-control to handle the situation.
The court heard that at about 6.25pm on June 11, Ho attacked Wong as she was strolling along Argyle Street with her friend Man Ka-yan and Tang. Man suffered abrasions on her middle finger when she tried to stop him.
Police officers who arrested Ho also found a cleaver in his bag.
He admitted one count of wounding with intent, one of assault occasioning bodily harm on Man, and one of possessing an offensive weapon.
Woodcock, who stressed an immediate custodial sentence was inevitable, is expected to sentence Ho on December 2 after ordering reports on his mental state.
