appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

SCMP Reporter

A JEALOUS husband snapped when his eight-year-old son told him that his wife had been playing cards with her lover while both were naked, the High Court heard yesterday.

   Construction worker Chan Sau-loi, 36, admitted pouring corrosive acid over his 26-year-old wife, Tse May-yan, leaving her scarred for life, but said he had been provoked.

  His counsel, Kevin Chan, said in mitigation that Ms Tse had been unfaithful for a long time.

  The attack on Ms Tse occurred on February 13 last year in the couple's home in Tsui Wan estate, Chai Wan.

  Deputy Judge Daniell heard that Ms Tse suffered about 15 per cent burns, particularly over the right side of her face, her back, neck, chest and legs.

  Chan's act of violence was completely out of character, Mr Chan said. He had at first shown remarkable self-control when he discovered his wife in ''unbecoming circumstances''.

   Chan had let it go, partly because of their three children, aged between three and eight, but later he became severely depressed. One month before the incident, he had tried to commit suicide, counsel said.

  On the evening before the attack, Chan had taken his wife out to karaoke in a bid to improve their relationship. But the next morning his son told him Ms Tse had taken him to her lover's flat and he had seen them naked, playing cards.

  A heated row followed. Chan got a bottle which contained corrosive acid. The argument escalated to a struggle, during which he poured the acid over Ms Tse. The acid was left over from a masonry job and the attack was not premeditated, counsel told the judge.

  Chan had always been a loving and responsible father who provided a decent living for his family.

  Deputy Judge Daniell adjourned sentence, calling for a probation report on the defendant. He warned however, that Chan should not expect anything but a custodial sentence.

  Earlier, Ms Tse, wearing dark glasses, had been called to give evidence because there was a dispute over whether she was asleep when the acid was poured, as she had earlier claimed in a statement to police.

 As her husband sobbed quietly in the dock, Ms Tse denied she had changed her story because her husband was the breadwinner.

   She told the court she had been enraged when she made the statement because her face had been disfigured for life. She was awake when Chan poured the acid on her.

    Recalling the attack, she said at first that when Chan got the container, she thought it was not real acid. When he took the top off and she saw the fumes and smelt it she realised it was genuine.



Acid poured on wife after 'naked game'