Judge cages 'beast' father (Hong Kong, China)

Father LO SIU-TING has been convicted of kicking and stomping his 3-year-old son, rupturing his intestines and liver. Dad has a previous history of abuse against a 5-year-old son and against his pregnant wife.

Judge cages `beast' father

A man previously convicted of ill- treating his five-year-old son was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail for kicking and stomping on his three-year- old son, rupturing his intestines and liver.

Diana Lee
Friday, July 24, 2009

A man previously convicted of ill- treating his five-year-old son was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail for kicking and stomping on his three-year- old son, rupturing his intestines and liver.

Lo Siu-ting, 24, pleaded guilty in the District Court to one count of wounding the three-year-old with intent on December 20 last year at a Tuen Mun public housing estate. A charge of assaulting his pregnant 23-year-old wife was not pursued.

District Court Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi said a dispute with his wife "brought out the beast in him."

"You turned your anger toward your son and hurt him badly. The young boy was innocent but was left with a ruptured liver and suffering from psychological trauma," Judge Chan said.

"Children are not the punchbags of adults. They are not an adult's private property. The court has to send a strong message that society does not tolerate such offenders."

However, the judge accepted Lo is remorseful and said he hoped Lo would learn a lesson from what happened and become a better father.

Lo has been living on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance since he was injured in a traffic accident a few years ago. He also suffers from post traumatic stress disorder.

In mitigation, Lo claimed he was agitated by his wife after a busy day of housework and baby-sitting.

Lo and his wife had lived together since 2002, and married in 2008. She gave birth to a girl when Lo was remanded in custody.

Lo and his wife were convicted of ill- treatment after tying and beating their eldest son, then two, with a cane in 2006. They were put on 18 months' probation.

Both sons are now with foster families and the girl is with her mother.

According to the prosecution, Lo kicked his pregnant wife out of bed and told her to take care of the son. When she turned on all the lights and switched on the TV he hit her. Lo then kicked his son four or five times when he was hugging his mother on the floor.

Lo later woke up and found his son groaning in pain. He took him to Tuen Mun Hospital. The boy needed two operations and was in intensive care for seven days.

Hong Kong University liver surgeon Lo Chung-mau said the boy may suffer long-term effects.
"We don't know how much it takes for a child to recover from the mental trauma brought on by the nightmare of child abuse," he said.

"The mental scar can be long term and even more difficult to heal than the physical harm."