Hong Kong protests: judge finds teacher guilty of assaulting officer, questions mental state in remanding to psychiatric facility
- Yeung Pok-man, 29, claimed police had threatened to throw him off the roundabout where he was pulled over for delaying traffic on November 11
- Magistrate suggested a personality disorder could be responsible for what she called a fabrication, questioning if he was fit to continue teaching
A primary schoolteacher has been found guilty of assaulting a police officer last November and sent to a psychiatric facility ahead of sentencing, after the magistrate suggested he was mentally unfit to continue teaching.
Yeung is the first schoolteacher to be convicted in relation to the demonstrations sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill one year ago.
Prosecutors said the 29-year-old, who was a member of the Hong Kong volleyball team and beach volleyball team, resisted officers after being told to leave his car, kicking Sergeant Chung Wang-yip in the abdomen.
Police had stopped Yeung as he drove across an elevated roundabout on So Kwun Po Road in Sheung Shui, accusing him of intentionally delaying traffic as part of the strike.
Denying the assault, the teacher said he did not kick the sergeant and he had been battered by officers who nearly threw him off the bridge after subduing him.
That account failed to convince the judge, who dubbed Yeung “selfish, impulsive and arrogant” and suggested he might have fabricated the story due to a personality disorder.
I am very concerned as to whether [Yeung Pok-man’s] mental state is good enough for him to continue teaching
“I am very concerned as to whether his mental state is good enough for him to continue teaching,” Ng said.
Yeung said during the trial he had been unaware of online calls to disrupt traffic as part of the strike that day, adding he had not discussed the matter with friends and relatives.
Ng found that claim unbelievable, sarcastically noting: “I suspect the friends and relatives of the defendant might be living in Africa or third-world countries.”
The magistrate also said the teacher’s eyes were filled with hatred when officers involved in the case testified, and that he had disrespected police by referring to them only by their serial numbers when he gave evidence.
She ruled the defendant had intentionally slowed his vehicle at the roundabout and officers had merely carried out their lawful duties in intercepting him.
“I don’t believe the police would speak harshly to a teacher who was merely driving past,” Ng said.
Defence lawyer Joe Chan Wai-yin pleaded for leniency, saying a jail sentence could bar Yeung from teaching again.
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But the magistrate ordered the teacher to be remanded to Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre pending two psychiatrist reports, adding imprisonment was inevitable.
She also dismissed the teacher’s application for temporary release pending an appeal, saying his chance of overturning the conviction was slim.
An Education Bureau spokesman did not comment on the case but said the government would subject any teacher tried for a crime, regardless of the outcome, to a disciplinary hearing and disqualify the person if so warranted.
Schools should also assess the risks of allowing teachers charged with criminal offences to remain in contact with students, regardless of the progress of court proceedings, the bureau said. Any acts that might have a detrimental effect on teachers’ professional image would not be tolerated.
Yeung will be sentenced on June 26.
