Justice Department seeks review in prison assault case
HK01 · 2 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong’s Department of Justice has sought a sentence review after a former Assistant Officer II of the Correctional Services Department was jailed for three years over the Wall Correctional Institution assault case. Three detainees involved in the same case had their existing prison terms increased by four to six months after convictions for wounding with intent. The case centered on an attack on a detainee surnamed Chiu at a staircase outside the B3-A activity room on the first floor of Block B at Wall Correctional Institution on December 26, 2023. The former officer also admitted conspiring to pervert the course of justice by promoting a false account of how the victim’s anal bleeding was caused
Key Points
- Four defendants were charged with wounding with intent: former Assistant Officer II Tam Lik-chung (譚力翀), and detainees Lee Tsz-yui (李梓睿), Ho Lik-wun (何力桓) and Lam Shing-wai (林承蔚)
- The prosecution case said the four attacked a detainee surnamed Chiu outside the B3-A activity room staircase in Block B of Wall Correctional Institution on December 26, 2023
- Tam and Ho pleaded guilty, while Lee and Lam were convicted after trial; two other accused in the wider case were acquitted.
- Tam, now 35 and aged 33 at the time, also admitted conspiracy to do acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice between December 26, 2023 and January 14, 2024
- The false account alleged the victim’s injuries were self-inflicted with a ballpoint pen, while the three detainees were already serving terms ranging from three years and eight months to 14 years
Why It Matters
The sentence review application means the case is moving beyond conviction to a dispute over whether the punishments were adequate for violence inside a correctional institution. For Hong Kong readers, the outcome may shape public expectations of accountability when custodial staff and inmates are both implicated in serious assaults and an alleged cover-up.