An Australian tourist who claimed he may have been spiked by an “African lady” in Wan Chai before assaulting a driver and stealing a minibus has escaped jail.
Patrick Cunningham, 30, was handed a two-month suspended sentence by Hong Kong’s Eastern Court on Tuesday and fined HKD6,000 for taking a conveyance without authority, common assault, failing to provide a blood sample and using a vehicle without third party insurance. He admitted all charges.
“He is a young man of many disabilities, hearing loss, learning disorder and epilepsy, to name a few,” Magistrate Winston Leung Wing-chung said at sentencing, according to the SCMP.
Cunningham took the minibus from Lockhart Road after drinking with strangers in Wan Chai in the early hours of Aug. 9. His lawyer claimed in mitigation that his client was given a drink by an “African lady” who he suspects may have spiked him.
The bus was later found with a smashed window on Stubbs Road, Happy Valley, with Cunningham nearby minus his wallet, phone and shoes.
He was apparently in town to visit his girlfriend but didn’t get to see her until he was bailed. Quite the entrance, Paddy!
Cunningham apologised outside the court on Tuesday. “To the minibus driver, I’m really sorry about everything I’ve done.”
“I want the press and everyone in Hong Kong to know I’m not a dangerous person,” he added.
Photo: Andreas via Flickr
