Hong Kong father jailed for two years at High Court over suicide attempt that put wife and children at risk as they slept in Kwun Tong home
- Judge calls former graft-buster ‘selfish’, but accepts the dad-of-two did not intend to harm his family
- Yung, who had a gambling problem, was struggling with $HK7 million of debt at time of charcoal burning incident
A debt-ridden former anti-graft officer was jailed for two years on Tuesday for burning charcoal at home while his wife and twin sons were asleep.
Yung Chi-wai, 51, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of causing a noxious item to be taken so as to endanger his wife Wang Ling-ling’s life and two charges of wilful ill-treatment causing injury to his children.
The former senior investigative officer, from the Independent Commission Against Corruption, was trying to kill himself in their Kwun Tong home on October 30, 2017, after plunging HK$7 million into debt (US$1.3 million).
Mr Justice Patrick Li Hon-leung accepted Yung had no intention to harm his family and was pushed over the edge by mounting stress. But he labelled Yung’s behaviour “selfish”.
“To be left where you are is of your own making,” Li said.
