The three defendants were warehouse clerk Lee Pui-yiu, 28, restaurant owner Cheung Fu-kit, 33, and transportation worker Chan Hau-chi, 47. They were charged with assaulting a girl outside a primary school in Tai Wai, on October 22, 2020.

Deputy District Judge Merinda Chow Yin-chu on Wednesday said the gravity of the case lies in the fact that the girl was only six years old. She was walking to the school gate after taking the school bus when the defendants doused her with red paint from behind.

Chow said that the girl was attacked for no reason and had to be absent from school for a month afterward, reflecting the disturbing and worrying elements of the incident.

Chow went on that the girl's grandfather was attacked near his home before the incident due to a debt, which was obviously relevant to the case. Since it was unlikely that the girl had any grudge against the three defendants, it was believed that someone used the attack as a message to pressure his grandfather.

Moreover, the defendants knew the girl's route to school, which showed that this case was premeditated, organized, and carefully planned.

The judge stressed that the girl was unarmed and defenseless on her way to school, and should not have been attacked in such a way.

Given that the girl was not seriously injured, the defendants were sentenced to three months in prison.