A 26-year-old Hong Kong man was handed a 200-hour community service order at Eastern Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to one count of common assault and one count of criminal intimidation against his ex-girlfriend on Thursday.
Apple Daily reported that the defendant, Lo Man-hin, was said to have anger management issues and had had a rocky relationship with woman X – whose name was not disclosed – from February to December last year.
In September, Lo was upset by his girlfriend wearing a miniskirt when they met in the bar district Lan Kwai Fong. He spat on her and pulled her by the skirt. She proposed a break-up; however, the defendant threatened to make naked photos of her public if she insisted.
In October, the pair were involved in a dispute at home during which Lo grabbed X’s neck for five seconds.
In December, Lo put an eight-inch-long fruit knife to X’s throat, threatening to kill her and then commit suicide. She escaped and called for police assistance.
In light of the fact that the defendant pleaded guilty to spare X from having to testify in court hearings, and that he is now seeking help from a professional psychologist, Deputy Magistrate Winston Leung Wing-chung granted Lo a community service order of 200 hours instead of a custodial sentence, Sing Tao reported.