28 months’ jail for divorcing Hong Kong father who stabbed stepson
Retired restaurant manager launched ‘fierce’ attack after younger man took away his leg rest, court told
A retired restaurant manager who stabbed his stepson in his chest with a 15cm knife after he took away his leg rest was jailed for 28 months at the District Court in Wan Chai on Wednesday.
Yiu Kong-chung, 66, had earlier pleaded guilty to wounding with intent during a brawl in the family’s flat.
District Court Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi said Yiu, whose marriage was breaking up, had failed to control his emotions and had vented his anger on his stepson, Yao Zhaohua, 26. He described the attack as “fierce”.
It was launched as if the father had borne a deep grudge against his stepson
“It was launched as if the father had borne a deep grudge against his stepson,” he stated, likening the knifing to an attempt to murder.
The court previously heard that Yiu had stabbed Yao in his chest after a struggle in their flat on the Ting Ching Estate in Tin Shui Wai on May 26, 2016.
The court was told that Yao, who had come to Hong Kong from mainland China, was using his computer inside his bedroom when suddenly his stepfather pulled his hair from behind.
The young man pushed Yiu out from his bedroom onto a sofa in the living room before the father went to the kitchen of the public rental housing flat and picked up a knife with a 15cm blade.
Yiu was said to have rushed towards his stepson and aimed at his head with the knife but ended up sticking it into his abdomen. The father pressed the young man down onto the floor and stabbed him in his chest.
After the stepson freed himself from the living room brawl, Yiu threw a wooden stool at his head. The young man then managed to escape from the flat before Yiu was arrested by police.
Under caution at the scene, Yiu admitted that he had attacked his stepson. He told police that he had got angry because his stepson had taken away the stool that he was using as a leg rest.
Yao sustained a j-shaped external wound measuring approximately 10cm over his abdomen and three transverse external wounds from the loin to the buttock on his left side. He spent some time in the intensive care unit at Tuen Mun Hospital.
“It’s fortunate for the victim that the injuries did not result in any permanent disablement,” Chan said on Wednesday. “It was the more serious kind of domestic violence.”
The court heard that Yiu’s wife had applied for a divorce in July 2015.
After sending Yiu to prison, the judge suggested the father continue to receive psychological counselling if needed.
