A 67-year-old man was sentenced to nine years in prison after threatening a young mother with a box cutter to force his way into her Kwai Chung home, where he molested and attempted to rape her in front of her baby in 2024.
The defendant, Leung Kam-wah, pleaded guilty to five offenses—including aggravated burglary, indecent assault, attempted rape and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm—at the High Court on Wednesday.
Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping condemned Leung for acting entirely out of selfish desire, leaving the victim deeply traumatized. She stressed that a deterrent sentence was necessary.
The court heard Leung has 11 prior criminal convictions, including two for unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 and two for assault.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of July 5, 2024. The 26-year-old victim, identified in court as X, was returning to her Kwai Chung apartment with her baby in a stroller, unaware Leung was following her. As she opened her door, he approached from behind with a box cutter, stating he wanted "to have some fun."
Terrified for her infant’s safety, X allowed him into the unit. Once inside, Leung set the box cutter aside before groping and kissing X. Too frightened to scream, X discreetly called her mother for help while pleading with Leung not to harm her baby.
Leung followed X into the bedroom when the baby began crying and she needed to nurse the child. Inside the room, Leung sexually assaulted her. Paralyzed by fear that Leung would rape her and harm her child, X did not physically resist but managed to call her mother a second time.
The ordeal ended when X’s doorbell rang. After receiving her calls, X's mother, identified as Y, and her mother's boyfriend, Z, rushed to the apartment, alerting the police on their way.
When the couple arrived, Leung was hiding near the door with the box cutter. As Y and Z moved to restrain him, X seized the weapon. A struggle ensued, during which Leung pulled Y’s hair, struck her head and kicked her shin. He also punched Z and bit his shoulder before police arrived shortly after to subdue him.
Under police caution, Leung admitted his intent to assault X. In a recorded interview, he confessed to leaving his home that day with a box cutter specifically to look for a woman to rape. He said he saw X outside a wet market, became attracted to her and decided to follow her home to carry out the attack.
