Woman ordered to undergo alcholism treatment after slapping policeman

The niece of a top judge has evaded imprisonment for a third time after thrice being convicted for assaulting a police officer.

Amina Bokhary, the niece of Court of Final Appeal judge Bohkary, was handed a one-year probation order at the Eastern Magistracy Monday and will attend the prestigious Betty Ford Center rehab clinic in the US for three months.

The 33-year-old had pleaded guilty to careless driving, assaulting a police officer and failing to take a breathalyzer test. The charges stem from a January 27 incident during which she drove her car into a bus and subsequently slapped an officer responding to the scene.

She insisted on leaving the scene and struck the policeman after he remainded standing in her way.

She was fined HK$8,000 and her driving privileges were revoked for a year.

In passing sentence, Magistrate Anthony Yuen ordered that Bokhary attend Alcoholics Anonymous after her return. He added, failure to satisfy terms of her probation could lead to heavier penalties.

Citing her prior convictions, he said, "Any responsible court would consider an immediate custodial sentence, otherwise it would send the wrong message to the public."

He acknowledged, however, that she suffers from bipolar disorder, adding, "You are of good background from a well-off family with a good education," and have "a pair of caring and concerned parents."

"You are sick rather than bad. Unlike other criminals, you do not need to be kept in prison," he said.

In mitigation for the assault, her lawyer Peter Duncan said she was intoxicated and suffering from the effects of a concussion sustained after her car meandered into the oncoming lane and crashed into a bus.

A British national, Bokhary has two prior convictions for kicking an officer who was responding to a HK$17.80 taxi fare dispute in 2008. On that charge she was ordered to complete 240 hours community service and fined HK$1,000.

She also assaulted a policeman and damaged a spotlight outside a Central bar in 2001 after a row with a boyfriend.

Her ability to evade imprisonment has being cited in pleas for leniency on behalf of other defendants, such as the case of an intoxicated 19-year-old construction worker who was charged with assaulting a police officer. The youth's stepmother had called police after he became violent when she turned him and two girls away.

Junior Police Officers' Association Chairman Wong Ching said the penalty was not consummate to the crime of assaulting an officer but added he respected the courts decision.

Chairman of the Hong Kong Police Inspectors Association Tony Liu Kit-ming said he received calls from fellow officers complaining the sentence was too lenient and that the wrong message was being sent to the public.

He said Bokhary's special treatment was due to her mental illness and added, "We can't dispute with the judiciary."

China Daily

(HK Edition 08/03/2010 page1)