Wanted Man Jailed For Hospital Toilet Escape

A businessman who escaped from police custody by climbing through the ceiling of a Hong Kong hospital toilet has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Leon Li sparked a brief manhunt after he disappeared from a bathroom at Queen Mary Hospital last November, just days after he was detained at the airport following three years on the run over using a fake identity document.

Li was recaptured a day after his latest escape, at a hotel in Wan Chai.

The 34-year-old mainlander earlier pleaded guilty to escaping from legal custody and resisting a police officer.

He also admitted using a forged identity card and failing to surrender to custody – charges related to his original case back in 2015.

Li had been arrested for using a fake Hong Kong ID card for a visa application at the US Consulate. But he jumped bail mid-trial.

Back in court again, Li's lawyer asked for mercy, urging the magistrate to take into account that his client's youngest son is seriously ill with a potentially fatal form of epilepsy.

The lawyer said Li was a single father and had jumped bail three years ago because his son was critically ill in Beijing, and his escape from police custody last year was also so he could get back to his family.

But Eastern Court magistrate Lee Siu-ho said Li could have asked for his case to be adjourned and his bail conditions altered, instead of fleeing during his first trial. He added that Li should also have thought about the consequences for his family before he committed his crimes.

The magistrate said Li had undermined and hindered the administration of justice time and again, and simply had no respect for the system.

He said the seriousness of the crimes outweighed his sympathy for Li's family, and he deserved no mercy from the court.