Autistic Hong Kong student, 18, spared jail for attacking guard outside government HQ

Deputy Judge Francis Cheng Ming-bun said the teenager had encountered significant challenges in effectively communicating with others due to his rigid thinking and poor conversation skills.

The court heard Leung was angry with his father, a security guard, who had urged him to improve his English abilities, but the teenager was unable to explain the difficulties he had and did not dare challenge his parent.

Leung instead took his frustration out on 57-year-old Lau, who happened to look like the student’s father, by cutting him with a fruit knife, Cheng said.

Lau sustained a 5cm (2 inches) wound on his left arm and scratches on his fingers after trying to protect himself from the assault, according to a prosecution case summary.

A government psychiatrist confirmed the defendant had autism but decided that Leung would benefit little from inpatient treatment.

A Social Welfare Department probation officer found the accused was remorseful and had sufficiently reflected on his transgression.

Cheng accepted the recommendations and noted the student had been remanded in prison for nine months before sentencing.

He warned that wounding with intent normally warranted a term of imprisonment between three to 12 years, and that a 30-month sentence would have been appropriate in the present case had it not been for Leung’s guilty plea and good conduct during his remand.

Wounding with intent is punishable by up to life imprisonment, but capped at seven years when the case is tried at the District Court level.