Siu Ling Ho sentenced for assaulting son’s mistress outside Hurstville home

A “peaceful” grandmother – nursing a number of medical ailments – savagely attacked her son’s mistress with gardening scissors, cutting her in the neck, before kicking, hitting and pulling her.

A 65-year-old frail grandmother Siu Ling Ho, 65, was sentenced in Sutherland Local Court for attacking her son’s mistress with garden scissors. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

A frail grandmother who requires a walking stick savagely used gardening scissors to cut the neck of her son’s mistress in a violent brawl outside her home.

Siu Ling Ho, 65, was sentenced in Sutherland Local Court on Tuesday after she pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and armed with intent to commit an indictable offence.

Agreed facts tendered to court state Ho’s son had started an affair with a woman while he was married and had an 11-month-old child.

The mistress of four months had asked Ho’s son to leave his wife.

About 9.40am on August 27 the woman attended Ho’s Hurstville house despite the son not living there and walked up to the front door where Ho began yelling at her in Cantonese, which she did not speak.

A 65-year-old frail grandmother was convicted of assault in Sutherland Local Court. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

Ho opened the door and went outside with a closed pair of scissors in her right hand, pointed towards the woman. The women were yelling at each other in different languages.

A struggle ensued between them where scissors made contact with the left side of the woman’s neck causing a cut and bleeding.

Ho held the woman’s jumper so she could not leave and caused red marks around her neck.

The 65-year-old continued kicking and hitting the woman in the head before she grabbed the woman’s hair.

In the struggle, the woman grabbed the scissors and threw them into the garden while Ho continued to kick her.

The brawl was only stopped through the intervention of a man who separated the pair until police arrived.

The court heard Ho was a grandmother, lived by herself, had medical concerns including a budging disc and lived a “peaceful life”.

Police arrested Ho and paramedics arrived to treat the woman who had a shallow 5cm laceration, bruising to her lower back, cuts on her hands and red marks on her neck, all of which did not require medical treatment.

In court, defence lawyer Bryan Wrench said the incident was “concerning” and occurred in “extraordinary circumstances with an extraordinary response”.

He noted his client was in a frail state physically and emotionally, adding “you would not think she could wrestle or inflict blows”.

Mr Wrench submitted Ho was at home gardening when the mistress arrived unannounced and claimed she was “trespassing and trying to break-in”. He said the plea of guilty was entered on the basis of “excessive self defence”.

Mr Wrench submitted his client was a grandmother, lived by herself, had medical concerns including a bulging disc and lived a “peaceful life”.

He said Ho fled Communist China and came to Australia in 1992 and had no criminal history.

Magistrate Holly Kemp noted the brawl was “overtly serious” but took into account Ho’s prior good character, references indicating she positively contributed to her community, her expressions of remorse, and that she was a low risk of reoffending.

Ho was convicted and sentenced to a 15-month community correction order.