Man Jailed For Four Months For 'Lennon Wall' Attack

A construction worker has been sentenced to four months behind bars after admitting to attacking a man at a pro-democracy "Lennon Wall" in Tseung Kwan O last year.

The 29-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Kwun Tong Magistrates' Court heard that he began tearing off posters from the wall and got into an argument with a man at the scene and attacked him.

The victim sustained injuries to his hands and forehead during the attack at around 10pm on August 28 last year.

The "Lennon Wall", in a tunnel connecting Sheung Tak Estate to Tong Ming Court, was one of many that had appeared across Hong Kong during the anti-government protests.

During sentencing, acting principal magistrate Ivy Chui said although the items used in the attack – an umbrella and a broomstick – were not as deadly as a hammer or knife, photos showed the umbrella handle was broken and the broomstick was bent out of shape, indicating the defendant had used a considerable amount of force.

Chui said taking into account that the defendant already had a criminal record, an immediate custodial sentence was necessary.

Last month, a tour guide was jailed for three years and nine months for a chopper attack on three people at a "Lennon Wall" last summer.

Judge Kwok Wai-kin described the attacker as a "victim" of the anti-government unrest, and following an outcry over his apparent sympathy for the defendant, the judiciary said Kwok would not handle any further protest-related cases.