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SCMP Reporter

A CAGEMAN, furious about a rent increase, hacked his landlord on the head with a chopper, the District Court heard yesterday.

The blows by Yee Fat-keung cut through to Shum Bor's skull. The cageman also chopped at his landlord's arms and legs.

  The construction worker admitted wounding with intent and was sentenced to two years in prison.

  Yee had been paying $370 a month for a cubicle in Kowloon. But his landlord raised it to $600 after the cageman began storing belongings in the space below.

  Yee, 55, and his victim were colleagues, and had been working together for 10 years.

 The quarrel began in March last year, when Mr Shum announced that he was raising the rent. It ended with Yee pledging to move out at the end of the month.

  On March 8, Mr Shum was cooking in the kitchen of his upstairs flat when he heard a door slam.

  He looked up to find Yee standing in the doorway, his face red with fury.

  The two men began arguing, then Yee turned violent and pushed his landlord to the ground.

  Grabbing a chopper from the kitchen rack, Yee began hacking at Mr Shum's head and limbs.

  The bleeding man managed to twist free and sprinted for his bedroom. He snatched up his phone and was about to call 999 when he realised the line was dead. The phone had been disconnected from the wall.

 Yee appeared in the doorway but thought better of renewing his attack and fled. The landlord reconnected the line and called the police.

 He spent the next five days in Kwong Wah Hospital.

 Immigration officials arrested Yee five months later as he tried to cross the Lowu border.

 Defence lawyer Tsang Kwok-ching said in mitigation the cageman had been provoked into the attack by the rent increase. He said the victim had suffered no permanent injuries.

  But Judge Muttrie said Yee was 'looking for trouble', adding Mr Shum might easily have been killed.

  He had taken Yee's age and clear record into account before passing sentence.



Cageman jailed for attack on landlord