The 26-year-old son of pro-Beijing activist Leticia Lee on Friday escaped a criminal conviction for a 15-minute beating that left his stepdad with “quite serious” injuries after the city’s justice department suggested a binding-over order was “appropriate.”

Chef Nicholas Lau was facing one charge of wounding after his stepfather was left with bone fractures, grazed skin and swelling to his face and body during a brawl over money in the suburban town of Yuen Long. The Tuen Mun Magistrates Court heard that Lau beat Tse Shing-chun with a tripod over two separate intervals that totaled 15 minutes. The case was reported to the police by a passer-by and Tse was sent to hospital for treatment.

“The injuries were quite serious,” Magistrate Cheung Kit-yee said.

Still, she imposed an 18-month binding over order on Lau in the sum of HK$2,000 – a form of suspended sentence that falls short of a criminal conviction – after hearing recommendations from the Department of Justice, the representative of which said it was “appropriate” given the “background” of the case. Lau was also ordered to pay HK$500 (US$65) legal costs.

Lee, a founder of pro-Beijing group Justice Alliance, is a high-profile activist who has organized numerous pro-government protests where she accused the pro-democracy camp of causing instability in the city. She has also publicly criticized protesters for inciting violence at some of the more radical protests in the city.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play