Immigration Department worker who repeatedly assaulted wife, son spared jail

A Hong Kong Immigration Department senior assistant who repeatedly grabbed his wife and young son by their throats during disputes has been ordered to perform 200 hours of community service, with the magistrate telling the defendant he had already received significant leniency while pleading for probation.Kowloon City Court on Monday sentenced the 49-year-old defendant, identified in court as “ATK”, after he earlier admitted six counts of common assault.While the defence had pleaded for probation as any more serious punishment was likely to result in ATK losing his job, Magistrate Arthur Lam Hei-wei said the offences were serious, noting that four of the six assaults involved the defendant grabbing the victims by the throat. The defendant is currently suspended from duty.The court had previously heard that ATK assaulted his wife, 39, three times between 2021 and 2024, and attacked his son on three occasions between 2023 and 2025. The boy was five years old at the time of the first incident.“If it were just one offence, I might have considered probation,” Lam said. “But this case involves six charges.”The magistrate added that the violence occurred repeatedly over a prolonged period rather than as a one-off loss of temper.