Chilling assault on four-year-old girl ‘for pleasure’ lands two Hong Kong women in jail for three years
- Pair were supposed to be looking after the infant. Instead they punched, burned and verbally abused her in a malicious attack that left her in need of brain surgery
A Hong Kong judge on Thursday slammed two women for unleashing their anger on a four-year-old girl for pleasure as he jailed them for almost three years over what he described as a chilling assault.
District Court Judge Ho Chun-yiu said he could not tolerate the malicious behaviour of Chan Tin-yau, 36, and Fung Ka-po, 42, who earlier admitted to punching and burning the girl when she was in their care in 2017.
He jailed both for two years and eight months after they pleaded guilty in December to wounding. Fung was ordered to serve two extra months for two drug-related charges, to which she also pleaded guilty.
The court heard on Thursday that the girl, referred to as X to protect her privacy, had recovered, but had been covered with bruises and had to undergo brain surgery after the incident. She later suffered septic shock, a life-threatening complication.
The court also heard that X had been entrusted to Chan and Fung, a couple, by her mother in November two years ago, when the mum had to travel to mainland China to be married.
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The pair subjected X to her ordeal between November 18 and December 1 in a Mong Kok flat, where they punched her in the stomach and genitals, and slapped and burned her with a lighter.
They claimed they had lost patience after X lied to them, according to interviews with police and mitigation by their lawyers.
But on Thursday Ho came to a different conclusion after watching a video that captured the two putting a metal paper clip half the size of the girl’s face on her nose, and hurling verbal abuse at X as a punishment for lying.
“This was not to educate X ... This was to vent your anger maliciously and derive pleasure from ridiculing her,” Ho said.
Not only had they failed to look after X as promised, they also targeted the “fragile life of a four-year-old”, he said, calling the assault chilling.
The judge acknowledged that the two had grown up in broken families, deprived of care and love at a young age. Taking care of X, who had learning difficulties, would not have been easy, he noted.
“But none of these are excuses for your acts,” he said.
It was most fortunate that X had not suffered any permanent injuries, he added.
The court heard that Chan had first met X’s mother when they served jail time together. Since their release, X had been entrusted to them on a few occasions without incident.
But on this occasion the pair refused to hand X back for some time. They later called the mother, saying the girl had lost consciousness after hurting her chin.
