A renovation work contractor was sentenced to 40 months in prison for hitting a good Samaritan with a manhole cover as he was clearing roadblocks during the unrest.

He was also ordered to pay HK$20,000 to the injured man as compensation.

Leung Kai-lok, 33, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm when he appeared in a district court yesterday. The court heard that Leung hit the victim with a drain cover at the intersection of Nathan and Mong Kok roads on December 1, 2019.

The victim was clearing items that blocked roads in Mong Kok when he was surrounded by around 10 protesters trying to stop him. He took out a mobile phone and tried to film the protesters, at which point he was attacked by Leung and lost consciousness.

He regained consciousness a minute later and was sent to Kwong Wah Hospital, where he received 10 stitches for a four-centimeter wound on the left side of his head. His left forearm was also bruised.

Leung, who was arrested by the police on December 31, 2019, admitted under caution that he attacked the man, thinking he was one of the "white shirts" planning to hurt teenagers.

Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung said Leung attacked a good man of good conscience with vicious means, and added that the court had to send a clear message to the public that such actions won't be tolerated by the court and society.

It was turbulent in Hong Kong in 2019 and protesters attempted to use violence to make government operations come to a halt. The victim tried to thwart this plan by clearing the roadblocks, but his "selfless act" was stopped by the defendant, Lin said.

Leung used a hard object to attack the most fragile part of a person's body, intending to inflict the greatest harm in the shortest period of time, Lin said.

Lin also dismissed Leung's testimony that he thought the victim was holding a sharpened object.

According to footage of the attack, the victim was holding something rectangular in shape, and did not take any action when he was threatened, Lin said.

Although the defense said Leung was a kind man, Lin said it failed to explain why he resorted to attacking a good Samaritan.

Leung also faces a count of rioting and another of using facial cover in an unlawful assembly. The charges will be left in the court file.

Hong Kong ranked 80th in the latest world press freedom survey. sing tao

Contractor jailed for unrest drain cover attack