The Law Society of B.C. is set to discipline a criminal defence lawyer who repeatedly choked his female partner in domestic-violence incident resulting in a criminal conviction for assault in May 2023.

The lawyer, Edward Chia Hao Chu, and the society reached a settlement Aug. 12 in which Chu admitted to professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming of the profession as it relates to the assault a judge described as “heinous” and “despicable.”

According to the settlement Chu became a lawyer in 2011 and has most recently practised criminal law as a sole practitioner.

Chu’s own trouble with the law began on Aug. 9, 2021 when he and his partner got drunk and had an argument over money. 

Chu’s partner barricaded herself in a bedroom but Chu broke through and grabbed a backpack the woman was packing, emptied its contents, and hit her on the head with the backpack.

Chu then pushed the woman against a wall, hit her head area with an open palm and began choking her. He squeezed her throat until she could not breathe and almost lost consciousness, the settlement agreement says, citing court evidence.

Chu choked the woman four times and only stopped when the woman’s sister entered the residence. 

Chu was charged in November 2021 but never reported the charge to the society.

The charge was discovered more than a month later by a law society forensic accountant investigating another matter.

“Rules strictly requires a lawyer charged with an offence to immediately provide written notice of the charge to the executive director … Given the violence and gravity of the underlying offence, this failure to report represents a marked departure from the conduct expected of a lawyer,” stated the independent tribunal panel that accepted the settlement.

Lawyers must meet high ethical standards in their private lives, the panel noted.

“Intimate partner violence is a pervasive social problem that disproportionately affects women and represents a profound breach of trust,” the panel said.

“This shocking and grave conduct clearly harms the standing of the legal profession and brings it into disrepute.”

Following Chu’s conviction, he was sentenced to a conditional discharge and three years’ probation in July 2024.

The panel noted how the sentencing judge emphasized “intimate partner violence is a significant statutory aggravating factor and that the crime of choking threatens the life of a victim and can lead to permanent brain damage.”

Chu is now to be scheduled for a disciplinary hearing where a panel may issue any combination reprimand, fine, suspension or disbarment.

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