Guard gets community service for knife threat to housing officer
Bastillepost · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
A 66-year-old security guard, Yeung Yi-leung, was sentenced at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on August 31 to 100 hours of community service after being convicted of criminal intimidation. The case arose from a January 27, 2026 home visit by a male Housing Department officer at Shing Kwok House, Kwai Shing East Estate in Kwai Chung. Magistrate Winnie Hung Suet-yu said the defendant had threatened an officer carrying out official duties with a knife, making the offence serious and one for which imprisonment could be justified. She nevertheless imposed a community service order after considering his age, clean record, family support and remorse shown in the report before the court.
Key Points
- Yeung Yi-leung, 66, was charged with threatening Lee Tung-yeung in a corridor of Shing Kwok House on January 27, 2026, intending to cause alarm.
- According to trial evidence, the Housing Department officer was conducting an occupancy check and found a four-person flat with only one bed in each room
- When asked who used the second bed, Yeung allegedly became agitated, pulled the officer’s sleeve, pushed him outside, then brandished a kitchen knife
- The officer said Yeung waved the knife up and down and shouted threats equivalent to “I’ll chop you to death” and “I’ll hack you”
- The defence said Yeung had been dismissed because security guards cannot have a criminal record, and had mistakenly lived in a hotel for over a month while on bail.
Why It Matters
The ruling underlines the courts’ message that frontline public officers, including Housing Department staff making home visits, must be able to work without threats of violence. It also shows that even in serious intimidation cases involving a weapon, sentencing can still turn on mitigation such as a previously clean record, remorse and suitability for community service.