A man who stabbed pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho in 2019 while he was canvassing ahead of district council elections was jailed for nine years Monday.
Tung Pak-fai, 31, pleaded guilty last month to one count of wounding with intent and one count of wounding over the assault in Tuen Mun, in which he knifed Ho and his bodyguard near Richland Garden Mall on the morning of Nov. 8, 2019. Tung, who is unemployed, has been remanded in custody since.
Judge Esther Toh called Tung’s actions “senseless and most horrific,” whether or not the attack were politically motivated.
In video footage of the assault, Tung is seen walking up to Ho at his campaign booth and presenting him with a flower bouquet, claiming to be a fan of the outspoken lawmaker. When Tung asks to take a photo with him, he pulls out a 33 cm-long knife and plunges it into Ho’s chest.
Tung is promptly tackled to the ground by members of Ho’s campaign team, but not before slashing the lawmaker’s bodyguard, Cheung Ying-choi, in the chest and forearm.
According to a police investigation, Tung visited the site of the assault in the days leading up to it, and bought flowers from a nearby shop minutes before the incident.
Ho was hospitalized for two days, while Cheung was discharged the same day after receiving stitches.
A vocal critic of the pro-democracy protests, Ho became a subject of notoriety after he was captured shaking the hands of white-clad men outside Yuen Long MTR station on the night of July 21, 2019. Earlier, the men had indiscriminately beat up commuters in a bloody incident widely seen as a turning point in the city’s months-long demonstrations.
“The 721 Yuen Long incident was your doing,” Tung allegedly yelled as he was subdued after stabbing Ho.
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