Elderly Hongkonger sentenced to three months behind bars after social workers recommend 81-year-old be jailed over chisel attack on opposition activist
- Social Welfare Department refuses to support lesser punishment of community service
- Wong Sum-kau had previously admitted assaulting former lawmaker ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung in April
An elderly Hongkonger who jabbed an opposition activist with a chisel has been jailed on the recommendation of city social workers.
Wong Sum-kau, 81, was sentenced to more than three months behind bars after Eastern Court heard on Wednesday that the Social Welfare Department did not support the lesser punishment of community service.
Wong had previously admitted to attacking former lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung outside Beijing’s liaison office in Sai Ying Pun on April 16, after Leung demonstrated outside the premises that afternoon.
Prosecutors said the elderly Hongkonger lunged at Leung from behind with the chisel at 2.50pm, as the 64-year-old was being interviewed by the press outside Kwan Yick Building Phase 3. Leung suffered abrasions to his lower back.
Wong confessed to the crime immediately after his arrest, and said it was people such as Leung who were causing trouble “in Hong Kong and China”.
“I am here to punish him and let him know he is not welcomed by many people,” he said.
Although he initially denied one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, Wong chose to plead guilty just before his trial on September 17. He claimed he carried out the attack “for justice’s sake”.
Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong ordered social workers to assess Wong’s suitability for community service instead of prison, after finding the retiree appeared to be a person who “loves society”, and only committed the offence out of political differences.
But Wong’s probation officer returned an assessment report on Wednesday concluding he was unsuitable to serve community service, the reasons for which were not spelled out in court.
The magistrate set a starting point of four months in jail, and took off one-fifth of the term to reflect Wong’s guilty plea, making a term of three months and six days.
