Chinese pro snooker player Liang Wenbo pleads guilty to assaulting a woman in UK, handed 12 months community order
- Liang was caught on CCTV hitting and kicking a woman in Sheffield city centre in what local authorities called ‘a sustained and deliberate assault’
- The former world No 11 is set to miss the world championship as World Snooker Tour issues ‘suspension with immediate effect’
A Chinese snooker player has been suspended by the sport’s governing body and will miss the upcoming world championship after being convicted of assaulting a woman in England.
Liang Wenbo, the world No 33, was fined £1,380 (HK$14,200) and handed a 12-month community order on Friday for committing what was described by British prosecutors as a “domestic-related assault” in February.
Security footage captured the 35-year-old having what appeared to be an argument with a woman, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Liang repeatedly hit and kicked the woman, and was also seen dragging her to the floor and pushing her against a wall.
The CPS added that the attack, which happened in the city centre, continued despite the efforts of another man attempting to intervene, with Liang “throwing punches towards her”.
The woman involved called emergency services, reportedly screaming in distress.
“Wenbo perpetrated a sustained and deliberate assault on the female victim, late at night, leaving her in great distress,” the deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside told the BBC.
“We will always pursue domestic abuse cases where our legal tests are met; this type of behaviour will not be tolerated, and the CPS treats such cases with the utmost seriousness.”
Liang pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court to the domestic-related assault by beating on 9 February.
The World Snooker Tour said it had decided that Liang had a case to answer for misconduct and charged him with behaviour “unbecoming of a sportsperson and has brought the sport into disrepute”.
The organisation said it had “suspended Liang from attending or competing on the World Snooker Tour with immediate effect”.
The suspension will remain in place until the conclusion of the disciplinary case, it said.
“Due to the violent and criminal nature of this offence, I have reached the decision that this is the only appropriate action to be taken pending the outcome of the formal disciplinary process,” Jason Ferguson, the WST chairman, said.
The Chinese Snooker Association released a statement on Sunday acknowledging the punishment and said it may impose its only discipline.
“[The Association] deeply regrets Liang Wenbo’s actions. Further penalties will be made based on the facts and the results of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association hearing,” it said.
Liang was expected to compete in the qualifying rounds of the World Championship in Sheffield next week.
He turned professional in 2004 and has won one ranking title – the English Open in 2016. His highest world ranking is No 11.
