Hong Kong man who stabbed 2 and bit off former district councillor’s ear found guilty of wounding
- Joe Chen had claimed he blacked out immediately before the attacks and had no memory of what followed
- The unemployed 51-year-old hired an additional lawyer after the judge expressed concern about the defence counsel’s performance
An unemployed man has been found guilty of wounding after biting off a former Hong Kong district councillor’s ear and attacking three others during the social unrest of 2019.
A High Court jury of three men and four women on Wednesday convicted Joe Chen, 51, of the November 3 attack outside Cityplaza mall after more than three hours of deliberations following directions from Madam Justice Judianna Barnes.
The jury returned three unanimous verdicts on two counts of wounding with intent – an offence punishable by life in prison – and one of common assault over the attacks on former district councillor Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, Louis Wan Ho-lun and his wife’s cousin, Leung Ying-ying, respectively.
But they could not agree on a third count of wounding with intent, reaching a vote of 6-1 in relation to the attack on Wan’s wife, Leung Pik-kei.
Chen, who had no previous convictions, did not visibly react to the verdicts.
Barnes will hear mitigation and sentence him on February 9 next year, pending his psychiatric and psychological assessment, and updated reports on the medical and psychological conditions of his four victims.