Hong Kong teen admits acid ambush that put tourist from Singapore in hospital for 61 days

A Hong Kong teenager has pleaded guilty to splashing acid on a woman visiting from Singapore in June 2025, leaving her with second-degree burns.

Anson Kew, now 19, was 17 at the time of the attack. He entered the plea at the High Court on Oct. 15 to one count of throwing corrosive fluid with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, the South China Morning Post reported.

Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai adjourned sentencing to Oct. 29. The offense carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under Hong Kong's Offences against the Person Ordinance.

Ambush after days of scouting

The victim, Jiang Wen, 36, was getting into a vehicle in Wan Chai on June 9, 2025, when Kew, dressed in black and wearing a mask, ambushed her.

She screamed and collapsed as she felt an intense burning on her face and legs, while Kew fled.

Kew turned himself in at a police station two days later but stayed silent during questioning and gave no reason for the attack.

Police found that he had scouted the location days earlier, and security footage captured him watching and pacing along Burrows Street. After the attack, officers recovered a bottle holding traces of corrosive liquid in a back alley nearby.

A government chemist's report found the liquid contained concentrated sulfuric acid capable of causing severe skin burns and permanent damage to eyesight.

Medical reports showed burns over 10% to 11% of Jiang's body, mainly on her face and limbs. She underwent emergency surgery, followed by skin grafts.

Jiang had arrived from Singapore and was leaving a meeting with her older sister, who had arranged the car she was getting into, HK01 reported. She spent 61 days in hospital in Hong Kong before returning to Singapore for further treatment.

The Hong Kong news site said security camera footage from June 6, 2025, showed Kew at home wearing gloves as he handled a black backpack and a black plastic bottle similar to the one later found.

He then took a taxi to the area, where he was seen hiding a red plastic bag in a nearby back alley.

Kew was remanded in custody until sentencing while the court obtains a background report on him.