Chef gets 20 months for chopper attack on woman diner

A chef who hit a woman with a chopper because she criticised his cooking and his relationships with his co-workers was sentenced to 20 months in jail yesterday.

Cheng Chi-wai, 50, a chef at Shum Tak Fisherman's Village restaurant in Wan Chai, had earlier pleaded guilty in the District Court to wounding causing grievous bodily harm for striking Chan Kwai-chun, 47, with the back of a chopper in 2007.

District Court Deputy Judge Francis Cheng Ming-bun noted that in a previous case in which a chef had attacked someone with a knife, the chef had been sentenced to about four years.

Judge Cheng said he had given Cheng a lighter sentence as he had hit Ms Chan with the back of the chopper rather than the bladed edge.

He said he understood that Cheng was under pressure at work but called his actions uncivilised. 'This knife is very heavy. You should know that better than anyone. Striking someone with any part of this knife would cause serious injury,' he said.

The incident occurred on September 22, 2007. Ms Chan went to the restaurant in Wan Chai Road in the morning with a friend. The restaurant's manager, Lo Chun-wah, introduced Cheng to Ms Chan and they sat eating and talking. They also drank alcohol.