Hong Kong mother jailed for throwing highly acidic drain cleaner on young lover’s face, causing permanent eye damage
In handing down jail term of more than six years, judge says there has to be a serious deterrent sentence as throwing acid is easy to commit and result is frightening
A mother of two who threw highly acidic drain cleaner on her young lover, leaving him unable to close his eyes, was jailed for six years and eight months on Wednesday.
The High Court heard the attack in May 2015 occurred after Cheung Chun-oi, 49, had broken up with Shek Ka-on, 26, and aborted their child because she felt he did not care.
“It is very sad to deal with this type of case, where emotions are involved,” Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping said.
“It’s very difficult to determine how much each party has suffered both emotionally and physically.”
She concluded, however, that there had to be a severe deterrent sentence as an acid attack was “so easy to commit and the result is so frightening for the victim”.
The “vicious and vengeful” nature of the crime was further highlighted when the judge found that Cheung had planned the attack, contrary to the defendant’s claim that she was simply smoking in the alley where Shek would pass by on his way to work.
