Hong Kong court awards HK$446,000 to police inspector assaulted in 2019 protest

Judge orders social worker Yau Chi-lok to compensate officer Tsang Chi-on for the ‘highly contemptuous’ attack

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Protesters occupy Harcourt Road in Admiralty in 2019. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Published: 8:50pm, 11 Nov 2024Updated: 1:06am, 12 Nov 2024

A Hong Kong police inspector has won a HK$446,000 (US$57,360) claim against a social worker who assaulted him during a 2019 anti-government protest, with a judge denouncing the attack as “highly contemptuous and humiliating”.

The District Court on Monday ruled in favour of Tsang Chi-on and ordered the defendant, Yau Chi-lok, to compensate the officer for damages, including pain and suffering in the “brutal” attack, loss of overtime wage, as well as medical and transport expenses.

Yau, who has served his sentence for the attack, had not filed a defence and was absent from the proceedings.

Tsang, then a constable at the police’s tactical unit, was assaulted by a group of protesters who breached a cordon outside the Legislative Council in Admiralty following a peaceful mass demonstration against a now-withdrawn extradition bill on June 9, 2019.

The officer testified that he was repeatedly kicked in the head and hit by a metal rod after being pushed to the ground, adding it was his “strong will to live” that enabled him to survive the ordeal.

Tsang suffered injuries to his head, right eye and shoulder, along with complications including persistent headaches, dizziness and other concussion-related symptoms.

He added he was forced to take painkillers regularly to suppress the recurring headaches and dizziness when he underwent strenuous physical training to get promoted to the inspector’s rank in 2022.