JULIE CHU JULIE.CHU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Friday, 21 August, 2015, 3:45pm
UPDATED : Friday, 21 August, 2015, 4:09pm
The motive for the attack by Yip Kim-wah and Wong Chi-wah remains a mystery. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Two men who brutally wounded a veteran Hong Kong journalist in a knife attack were jailed for 19 years each at the High Court today – but the reason for the assault remained a mystery.
Yip Kim-wah and Wong Chi-wah, both 39, were convicted by a jury of a count of causing grievous bodily harm to former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau Chun-to, 50, in February last year. They were also convicted of one count of stealing a motorcycle which was used in the incident. Yip was also convicted on a count of theft for stealing a vehicle licence.
“It was a totally senseless and brutal attack,” Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping said.
“Members of the press, like everyone else, should be protected by the law without fear in their daily business.
“The two defendants carried out the cold-blooded attack for financial gain.”
The two men told police they were each offered HK$100,000 for the attack on Lau but refused to reveal who hired them.
They both claimed they were only told it was “to teach Lau a lesson”.
The court heard the pair received the order around the Lunar New Year last year, after which they started to look for Lau’s information on the internet.
Kevin Lau is still receiving physiotherapy for injuries sustained in the attack. Photo: Sam Tsang
Yip claimed he did not know Lau in person but learned that his office was in Chai Wan.
He followed Lau from his office to his home in Kowloon Tong. They also learned of Lau’s usual practice of having breakfast at a restaurant in Sai Wan Ho before heading to work.
READ MORE: Kevin Lau Chun-to - a Hong Kong journalist at the centre of a storm
The pair stole the motorcycle in February, following Lau on several days before executing their plan on February 26.
Lau claimed the attacker wore a helmet and slashed him from behind. He only noticed he had been attacked when he felt numbness in his legs. He then saw his attacker run to a motorcycle in front of his car. Another man was waiting on the motorcycle and drove the knifeman away.
Police staged a reconstruction of the attack in March last year. Photo: David Wong
Lau suffered six deep cut wounds on his back and legs. He received hospital treatment for almost five months and was still receiving physiotherapy.
Police searched CCTV footage and found Yip and Wong had been near Lau’s home in the days leading up to the attack.
They left the city for mainland China in the afternoon after Lau was attacked.
Police sought assistance from the mainland’s Public Security Bureau to arrest the pair in March. They were handed over to Hong Kong police on March 17 last year.
Lau received hospital treatment for five months following the attack. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Both Yip and Wong claimed they were arrested on the mainland on March 8 before they were tortured and forced to admit the offence while under the PSB’s detention.
They claimed mainland officers told them they did not want the issue to be politicised so forced them to confess.
In Hong Kong, the pair admitted on video they found pictures and information about Lau, their preparation and how they carried out the attack. But they did not reveal how they received the order to attack Lau.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1851408/two-nnifemen-jailed-19-years-brutal-attack-ming-pao-editor
