FOUR YEARS IN JAIL FOR 'BRUTAL' DRUG DEALER

He Beat A Woman Who Owed Him, Then Shaved Her Hair Off

Convicted drug dealer Alfred Kai Ming Fong was sentenced to four
years in jail yesterday for an assault on a sex-trade worker that
police are calling the "St. Valentine's Day Mutilation."

On Feb. 14, in a house in the Downtown Eastside, Fong shaved the
front half of a woman's head to mark her as someone who didn't pay
her drug debts.

He also beat her with a pipe and machete and kicked her in the face
with a steel-toed boot.

"The assault was brutal and prolonged. It was cowardly," said
Provincial Court Judge Catherine Warren.

"On top of the assault, her head was shaved -- a humiliating and
degrading experience."

Fong, dressed in a red B.C. Corrections-issue sweatsuit, sat with his
legs outstretched and stared straight ahead as Warren handed down the sentence.

The 34-year-old was convicted last week of two counts of assault with
a weapon, one count of assault causing bodily harm and one count of extortion.

The sentence includes a lifetime ban on owning weapons and Fong must
provide a sample for a DNA database.

"This is a problem that is escalating on the Downtown Eastside. Women
are being beaten, their heads are being shaved and they're being
extorted. And it's being done at the hands of men like Mr. Fong,"
said Crown prosecutor Lori Ashton, who had requested a four-year sentence.

Fong's lawyer, Paul Ferguson, had asked for two years.

"There's no question that the victim here was a vulnerable victim,"
Ferguson said.

"However, I would point out that Mr. Fong himself comes from a
marginalized segment of society. He's spent the past six years living
in the Downtown Eastside."

Fong has five previous convictions for drug trafficking or possession.

He has been addicted to crack since 2002, Ferguson said.

Fong has been in custody since March 23, when he turned himself in to
police on a drug-trafficking warrant. Because of time served, the
assault sentence is immediately reduced to three years, four-and-a-half months.

Police are releasing few details about the victim, but say she has
since moved out of the Downtown Eastside.

"There are others that are [shaving women's heads]," said Sgt. Matt
Kelly. "We have other suspects in mind. What we need is people to
come forward with information."

Kelly said police will help victims relocate if necessary.