A pro-democracy district councillor who had part of his ear bitten off during a clash at a Hong Kong mall will need to have part of the reattached tissue removed after it started to turn black.
Andrew Chiu, who is running as an incumbent in the upcoming district council elections, was rushed to hospital on Nov. 3 following a fight outside the Cityplaza mall in Tai Koo Shing. Chiu was trying to prevent a man from leaving the scene after he had allegedly attacked several people with a knife when the man bit off a large part of Chiu’s ear.
The suspect was later arrested at the scene, and Chiu had to undergo a three-and-a-half-hour surgery to have part of his left ear reattached. But in a statement posted on the Democratic Party’s Facebook page, Chiu revealed that part of the reattached cartilage suffered from tissue damage, and the outer part has to be removed.
Chiu also included a photo of his ear, which some readers may find graphic.
“According to the attending doctor’s notes, since about three-quarters of the auricles on the left ear was bitten off, the cartilage had been severely damaged, and the doctor could only find one blood vessel to connect it back together,” he said.
During his week-long stay at the hospital, Chiu said that the outer part of his ear started to turn black because not enough nutrients could be supplied to the tissue, and that due to concerns about infection, the doctors decided that Chiu needed to undergo another surgery in order to remove the outer part of the ear.
“My left ear suffered a permanent trauma in this attack,” he wrote.
He added that what happened to him was nothing compared to what others in the ongoing pro-democracy protest movement had been through, and reminded people to protect themselves, admonishing them to “never underestimate the violence and deviousness of this authoritarian regime.”
Chiu’s alleged attacker, a 49-year-old man called Chen Zhen, reportedly appeared at Eastern Magistrates’ Court yesterday for a mention.
Ming Pao reports that Chen was not required to enter a plea, and has been charged with two counts of wounding with intent over injuries sustained by a 37-year-old man and his 40-year-old wife, and one count of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for the injury sustained by Chiu.
Chen was discharged from hospital yesterday and arrived at court in a wheelchair, responding in the affirmative when asked if he understood the charges against him.
The court heard that Chen settled in Hong Kong about 10 years ago, and has suffered from depression for several years.
The prosecution requested more time to investigate and said they were waiting for medical reports on the injured people.
The court rejected Chen’s bail application, and he will continue to be held in custody until Jan. 3, 2020.
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