Advertisement
Hong Kong protests
Hong KongPolitics

Hong Kong man who vandalised HSBC branch ordered to attend rehabilitation for drug abuse

  • Wong Kwui-ho vandalised an HSBC branch in Sheung Shui on December 30, causing damage worth US$25,727
  • Acting principal magistrate Don So sentenced him to rehabilitation centre as police discovered he had been consuming Ice for a long time

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
The vandalism took place at an HSBC branch in Sheung Shui Centre on December 30. Photo: SCMP
Brian Wong

A Hong Kong man who vandalised an HSBC branch in anger at the closure of a protest fundraiser’s account was given compulsory rehabilitation by a court on Thursday, after police found he had a history of drug abuse.

Advertisement
Unemployed Wong Kwui-ho, 33, broke into the bank in the Sheung Shui Centre on the afternoon of December 30, and damaged four ATMs, two cash deposit machines, a cheque deposit machine, two advertising light boxes, and five reinforced glass windows, damage totalling HK$200,000 (US$25,727).

Police arrested the defendant on a nearby public housing estate later that day. Upon inquiry, they discovered the defendant had been consuming Ice for a prolonged period.

Wong pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage at Fanling Court earlier this month.

The Fanling Law Courts Building in Fanling. Photo: Winson Wong
The Fanling Law Courts Building in Fanling. Photo: Winson Wong
Advertisement

On Thursday, acting principal magistrate Don So Man-lung spared the defendant jail and sentenced him to rehabilitation at an addiction treatment centre, to end his drug use.

The magistrate also considered the fact that the defendant had not used dangerous items or injured anyone.

loading
Advertisement