A man who shot to infamy earlier this year when he was filmed violently pushing over and robbing an 89-year-old woman has been jailed for 33 months.
The man, a 50-year-old construction worker surnamed Chan, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and one count of assault at the District Court, Oriental Daily reports.
The judge originally handed down a 32-month-sentence but extended it as Chan had been incarcerated for another assault earlier in the year. Emphasising the seriousness of Chan’s offence, the judge added that Chan was lucky his victim did not suffer serious injuries, especially given her old age.
The robbery took place at around 10am on March 25 of this year, in the hallway of a restaurant at Kwai Hing Shopping Centre. Chan was seen forcefully pushing the woman, surnamed Chu, to the ground, before taking her bag and hurrying away.
Footage of the incident was posted on social media, where it went viral, sparking furious comments slamming Chan as “heartless” for “not even sparing a little old granny”.
Chu’s bag, which had contained HKD500 cash, a watch, a senior citizen Octopus card, and her HKID, was reportedly found in a men’s bathroom of the shopping centre later that day with the cash missing.
Chan was arrested at around 10pm the same day, and reportedly said under police caution that he had “accidentally” bumped into Chu while chasing after someone else, and picked up her bag “by mistake”.
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