Woman dating son of retired Hong Kong judge Woo Kwok-hing denies assault on her
- Natalie Cheung, 34, says in social media post that her injuries were a result of losing her footing while drunk
- Alan Woo, who was arrested over the incident, was originally accused of pushing her to the floor during an emotional dispute
A woman dating the son of retired Hong Kong judge Woo Kwok-hing has denied allegations that she was assaulted by her boyfriend in an incident that left her with injuries, saying in a social media post that she had actually lost her footing and fallen over while drunk.
Natalie Cheung, who is also the ex-wife of actor Marco Ngai Chun-kit and was known as Zhang Lihua before she changed her name, posted the statement online two days after Woo’s 42-year-old son, Alan Woo, was arrested in the couple’s flat in Orient Crest on Peak Road.
The 34-year-old said she had drunk a lot of alcohol during a dinner at a friend’s place on Monday night and did not remember that she had fallen over in the toilet and hurt her head. After the incident, Cheung’s driver took her home and she sent a picture of her injuries to another friend.
“My friend thought I was assaulted and called police. Suddenly, officers came to my home. I vaguely remember being sent to hospital and did not really know what happened until the next day when I was discharged,” she wrote on social media.
She said she had realised the allegations about the assault were a misunderstanding when her friend who hosted the dinner told her about the accident in the toilet.
“I cancelled the report on Wednesday. I apologise for causing any trouble to those who cared about me.”
An initial examination showed Cheung suffered injuries to her forehead, left ankle, left heel and right thumb. She was taken to Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam for treatment. The force said the woman was unfit to be interviewed because she was drunk.
The younger Woo, who is a lawyer, was originally accused of pushing her to the floor during an emotional dispute over their relationship and leaving the flat before police arrived, according to a force insider. He was arrested when he returned to the flat about two hours after the arrival of officers at 1am on Tuesday.
Alan Woo has denied the allegations, saying Cheung lost her footing and fell to the floor because she was drunk.
His father was a deputy High Court judge until he stepped down in October 2016 to run in Hong Kong’s 2017 chief executive election against former financial chief John Tsang Chun-wah and eventual winner Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
Woo received only 21 votes from the 1,194-member Election Committee, the lowest number a chief executive candidate has ever garnered. Lam won with 777 votes, while Tsang received 365 votes.
