Hong Kong man charged over attack on Yaita

INTIMIDATION TACTIC: The group had tried to get another person to attack Yaita with a bottle, but he backed out and fled the country, prosecutors said

Prosecutors yesterday said they had indicted a Hong Kong gang member over the assault of Taiwan-based political commentator Akio Yaita, who was punched in the face in a Taichung hotel lobby in July.

Liu Kong-faat (廖港發), described by prosecutors as a ranking member of the Hong Kong-based Wo Shing Wo (和勝和), was charged with assault, public insult, public threat and organized crime, the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement.

Four other suspects, all members of another Hong Kong gang, had been placed on a wanted list after fleeing Taiwan, prosecutors said.

Police escort suspect Liu Kong-faat, center, to the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office on July 7.

Photo: Taipei Times

Prosecutors added that they were also continuing to investigate who was behind the operation and whether there were any accomplices in Taiwan.

Yaita, a Japanese journalist who acquired Republic of China citizenship in 2024, was punched in the face after giving a public speech at a Taichung hotel on July 6.

A man using the alias Chen Wei-hao (陳偉豪) contacted a man surnamed Ng (吳), one of the suspects who later fled Taiwan, on July 1, offering him money to organize an operation to publicly assault Yaita to intimidate him, prosecutors said.

Chen allegedly masterminded the scheme, while Ng recruited Liu and three other suspects to carry out different tasks, they said.

The group had initially planned for another suspect to attack Yaita with a glass bottle, but that person withdrew and left the country after deciding the risk was too high, they said.

Liu was then recruited to carry out the attack for HK$100,000 (US$12,742), prosecutors said.

Ng left Taiwan on July 5, the day before Liu allegedly carried out the attack, with another suspect acting as a lookout, they added.

Liu was arrested at Taichung International Airport while attempting to flee to Busan, South Korea, while the other suspect had already left Taiwan, they said.

The Taichung District Court approved prosecutors’ request to detain Liu on July 7.

Prosecutors are seeking a five-year prison sentence for Liu.