Hong Kong tutor who assaulted 10-year-old boy and sprayed detergent in his face jailed for eight months
Judge dismisses 33-year-old’s claims that she was remorseful and had since reflected on her behaviour after being convicted last month of ill-treatment
A Hong Kong private tutor was jailed for eight months on Thursday for assaulting and spraying her 10-year-old student with detergent when he did not finish his homework and scored poorly in a school test.
Chau Kin-ying, 33, argued in mitigation that she had committed the string of attacks on May 2 last year out of concern for the boy. She claimed to have since reflected on her behaviour, which led to her understanding that she had used the wrong methods, and pledged to stop teaching.
Her lawyer Ivan Lee also revealed that she had pleaded not guilty because she wanted to take a chance at trial, in fear that her friends might leave her.
But Magistrate Matthew Leung Man-liang dismissed her claims of remorse and slammed her attitude, which he considered to be inappropriate for a teacher.
“The defendant committed a serious crime,” he said. “[Her] conduct was a serious breach of trust.”
Chau was convicted after trial last month on one count of ill-treatment by those in charge of a child or young person, an offence punishable by three years’ imprisonment.
