The defendant, identified only as “LM,” appeared before acting principal magistrate Cheng Lim-chi in the Sha Tin Court today.

He was charged with willful assault causing unnecessary suffering or injury to his seven-year-old daughter “X” at their Tsing Yi home on October 18 last year.

Delivering the verdict, Cheng said it was uncommon to allow LM to sign a bind-over order to settle the case. Cheng also called on LM to treasure this opportunity and understand that the modern ways of teaching are now different from that in the past.

The court earlier heard that LM had divorced his wife and lived at his Tsing Yi home alongside X and a foreign domestic helper.

On the day of the assault, X lied to the helper that she was watching videos on YouTube as a part of her homework.

LM returned home to find that X’s study progress had been slow and talked to the helper, who recapped what X had said. LM then confronted X furiously and beat X’s hip and thigh four to five times with a metallic cloth hanger.

The assault was revealed three days later when the mother picked up X and helped her change for a dancing class. After finding the bruise mark on X’s thigh, the mother took X to a hospital and filed a police report.

LM was then arrested by police the next day.