Hong Kong rehab centre staff cleared of assaulting mentally challenged woman they force-fed
Magistrate states the defendants ‘only meant goodwill’ in difficult situation
Two employees with a rehabilitation centre in Wong Tai Sin accused of bruising a mentally challenged woman’s cheeks when they force-fed her in February last year were cleared of assault charges by Kwun Tong Court on Friday.
Instructor Yeung Lai-fan, 26, and caretaker Wong Yuk-lin, 46, were instead bound over in the sum of HK$2,000 for two years and instructed to be on good behaviour and refrain from similar conduct.
Principal magistrate Ernest Lin Kam-hung said binding over was a reasonable penalty as he understood that medical staff might sometimes have to make difficult feeding decisions.
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Lin said he believed the defendants in this case “only meant goodwill for the patients”.
But he reminded the pair to consult other staff in the future as they would not be let off so easily if they were caught a second time.
The two Hongkong Bank Foundation Hong Chi Tung Tau Hostel staff members were previously charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after coin-sized bruises were found on the cheeks of their patient Chan Pik-yiu, 53.
Both women denied the charge.
The case took a turn when the magistrate saw photos of the victim and noted the injuries were not serious.
The court heard that Chan, a moderately mentally challenged patient, needed help with feeding from September 2013, when she started refusing proper meals during lunch time and declined dinners.
It was later discovered that the defendants each stood in front of and behind Chan’s wheelchair to force-feed her.
The magistrate said Wong used her hands to open Chan’s mouth while Yeung fed her soup by the spoonful.
The pair admitted the facts in court.
