Hong Kong protests: teacher accused of assaulting man by pouring water on his head during citywide strike sees charge dropped

A Hong Kong teacher who poured water over another man’s head during a citywide strike four months ago saw his assault charge withdrawn on Thursday.

But West Kowloon Court ordered Wong Kwan-mau, 26, who attacked merchant Chan Chiu-man outside exit C of Kwai Fong railway station, to be bound over for HK$2,000 (US$255) on good behaviour for a year.

The court ordered the same on 47-year-old Chan, who had retaliated by slapping Wong twice on August 5, the day when protesters paralysed traffic and staged demonstrations across the city.

Prosecutors said they initially planned to charge each of the pair with one count of common assault, but decided not to continue with the case upon negotiations with the defence counsel.

The court heard that at 10.30am that day, Chan and his wife joined around six passengers who had been berating some 40 people outside the rail station for disrupting train services. During the altercation, Wong suddenly poured water from a plastic bottle on Chan’s head from behind.

Wong admitted to police officers he had carried out the attack, saying he did so because he found what Chan said during the exchange was unreasonable. Chan told officers he hit back at Wong in self-defence. Neither of the duo suffered any noticeable injury.