HKU virologist avoids conviction over MTR assault case
SCMP · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A University of Hong Kong associate professor specialising in virology has been spared a criminal conviction after admitting to assaulting a stranger and damaging his phone during an altercation at a Hong Kong MTR station on August 17, 2025 . Eastern Court on Friday placed Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran on a two-year bind-over order, required him to pay HK$800 in damages, and warned he could be fined HK$2,000 if he failed to keep the peace during that period .
Key Points
- The defendant, 48-year-old HKU associate professor Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran, heads the university’s pathogen evolution lab and joined its School of Public Health in 2020 .
- The incident happened shortly after 6pm in a lift connecting to the Airport Express, involving retiree Raimundo Kwok Chun-tung, 56, during a trivial dispute .
- After both men filmed each other on their phones, Dhanasekaran knocked Kwok’s Samsung Galaxy Note 20 down, pushed him several times, and kicked it away .
- Kwok suffered scratches on his left arm, cuts to his left knee, mild pain in his right hip, and spent HK$800 repairing the HK$3,000 phone .
- Prosecutors agreed to drop assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage charges after the defendant accepted the bind-over arrangement in court .
Why It Matters
The outcome means the academic avoids a formal criminal conviction despite admitting to violent and damaging conduct in a public transport setting . The case also draws attention because Dhanasekaran is a prominent researcher credited with work on the global resurgence of H5N1 bird flu while holding positions in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia .