Poon Chuk-hung fined after mall assault guilty plea
HK01 · 5 SOURCESabout 8 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Businessman Poon Chuk-hung (潘焯鴻), 56, pleaded guilty at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts to two counts of common assault over a July 28, 2025 confrontation outside Shop 410 on the fourth floor of Kowloon City Plaza. The case had been scheduled for trial on November 12, 2026, but Poon changed his plea before the hearing began. Magistrate Tsang Chung-yiu fined him HK$1,200 on each count, for a total of HK$2,400. In mitigation, the defence said he acted impulsively after learning workers had forced open the lock to enter the premises because of a serious leak, and that he now regretted using excessive force.
Key Points
- The prosecution said mall managers Chow Kin-ping and So Wing-tung, with colleagues and several workers, went to the shop at about 9:30am on July 28, 2025 to deal with a serious water leak posing immediate danger.
- Poon had rented Shop 410 since August 2024, and after staff had previously been refused entry, Chow instructed workers to force entry under the tenancy terms for inspection.
- When Poon returned, he challenged their authority, accused them of damaging the gate, grabbed So’s right arm and dragged her away, and pulled Chow’s collar while striking his chest.
- Medical findings recorded redness on Chow’s upper left chest wall, while So suffered bruising and redness to her right arm, tenderness in her right shoulder, and, according to one report, high blood pressure.
- After arrest, Poon first remained silent, then said in a video-recorded or further cautioned interview that he was exercising a citizen’s arrest and was protecting property inside the shop.
Why It Matters
The case shows how quickly a property-management dispute can become a criminal matter when force is used, even where a tenant says he was trying to protect his goods. For Hong Kong readers, it also underlines that arguments over access rights under a lease and emergency building issues should be resolved through lawful channels rather than physical confrontation.