Hong Kong prison guard jailed for inmate assault

A Hong Kong court sentenced former prison officer Tam Lik-chung to three years in jail on Monday for assaulting an inmate who later needed hospital treatment, Hong Kong media reported.

Tam had pleaded guilty this year to wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice over the December 2023 assault at a correctional institution for young offenders.

According to a July court verdict, Tam was overseeing inmates including Chiu Hei-tik, who was on remand in a robbery case. Chiu testified that after he threw talcum powder at Tam during a game, Tam ordered him to a stairwell and assaulted him with a wooden stick while two other inmates held him down.

The verdict said Chiu was taken to hospital with anal and rectal injuries and required an operation.

Three inmates were sentenced to four to six months for their role in the assault. A fourth inmate was acquitted, and Tam's supervisor, who had been charged with misconduct in public office, was also acquitted.

Amnesty International said in a 2025 report that Hong Kong inmates experience physical violence, prolonged solitary confinement, poor sanitary conditions and high summer temperatures in the city's prisons. The Hong Kong government called those claims a "malicious smear".