A man who bit off a former politician's ear and gashed another person during the Hong Kong protests in 2019 has been sentenced to 14 and a half years in prison.

Jon Chen, 52, assaulted four people after he had rushed to intervene in a fight that had broken out outside Hong Kong's Cityplaza mall in Quarry Bay last November. He had assaulted a district councillor, civilian Louis Wan Ho-lun, his wife Leung Pik-kei, and her cousin Leung Ying-ying.

He had been facing charges of three counts of wounding with intent and one of common assault, but pleaded not guilty. His lawyers said that he had acted in self defence and that he had "no intention of inflicting grievous harm on the victims."

Hong Kong had seen a number of protests in 2019 against a now-axed bill that would have allowed extradition of suspects to mainland China, writes The Independent.

The aforementioned incident occurred during one such protest. The protests had continued for six months and more than 9,200 people were arrested for taking part in the demonstrations.

During the hearing of the case, the court noted that the attack had left serious injuries on all four victims. The judge called the attack "barbaric and unbelievable," and added that the victim is forced to wear an artificial ear and faces inconvenience in his everyday life.

On the day of the attack, Chen was heard saying "Restore Taiwan" in Mandarin and Cantonese before he went on a rampage. "I pulled up my shirt to find blood on my stomach. It happened very quickly, "said Louis Wan Ho-lun, one of the victims of the attack.

He added: "I tried my best to push him away. But he was bigger, so I couldn't – and he bit down with a 'pluck' sound...I will remember that sound for the rest of my life."

HK academics fear for freedom
Photo: AFP / Anthony WALLACE
Hong Kong