Hong Kong father grabbed knife and threatened to chop off son’s ear, court hears
Boy, 10, was repeatedly slapped after not finishing homework on time
A Hong Kong man on Thursday admitted to a court that he slapped his son and threatened to chop off the boy’s ear because the 10-year-old had not finished his homework on time.
Tuen Mun Court heard how the single father grabbed a knife from the kitchen and told his son: “Do this again and I will chop you. You pick – ear, hand or leg ... Let’s chop the ear first since you didn’t listen.”
A medical report revealed that repeated slaps had caused the boy to bite his lip which left him bleeding from a centimetre-long ulcer.
The abuse at a Tin Shui Wai flat on November 28 last year came to light after the boy reported the incident to his teacher.
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The father, whom the Post has decided not to name to protect the child’s identity, confessed to police upon arrest and said he committed the offences “out of impulse”.
He claimed the knife in question had been thrown away.
The unemployed 32-year-old pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of common assault and another of criminal intimidation.
The case adds to a prior record of common assault, for which he was given a probation order after also attacking his son.
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A defence lawyer said in mitigation that the man had lost control out of anger, since his son frequently cut and glued pages from a student handbook to pretend all his homework had been submitted and then asked his father to sign it.
The lawyer also claimed the father had struggled to care for his son, who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but that they had a good relationship. The man had continued to bring his son to school and collect him after the boy was placed in a small group home run by the Sheng Kung Hui following the incident.
Magistrate Jacky Ip Kai-leung adjourned sentencing to March 15, pending reports on the suitability of a probation order and community service.
