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A man previously convicted of torturing and sexually abusing his former teenage friend has been jailed again for carrying out a new attack while carrying a metal hook.

Belfast Magistates' Court heard Darren Fu, 23, punched and kicked a man several times during an assault at Mill Pond Glen in the city on June 9.

The victim said Fu, currently of no fixed abode, had a metal hook in his hand at the time.

He was given a five-month sentence after admitting common assault and possessing an offensive weapon in public.

Fu initially claimed that he had the hook for towing a car, a judge was told.

Defence counsel contended that he had reacted in a "foolish" way, but now realised the severity of the incident.

The sentence also covered a separate offence of failing to notify police of a change in his home address on June 13 - a requirement under the terms of the sex offenders' register.

In 2016 Fu, formerly of Drumart Walk in Belfast, was jailed for subjecting a 17-year-old youth to an ordeal lasting several hours at a flat in the Stranmillis area of the city .

The teenager was tied up, locked in a cupboard and subjected to several sexual assaults.

At one point during the attack in May 2014 a pillowcase was put over his head, a previous court heard.

He was also threatened with knives, burned with cigarettes, and later diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Fu at first claimed he could not remember what happened due to heavy drug taking which meant he was not in control of himself at the time.

However, he pleaded guilty to four charges - false imprisonment, rape and two counts of sexual assault.

An accomplice who was aged 17 at the time of the attack admitted six counts including false imprisonment, two counts of sexual assault and attempted rape.

Fu was initially handed an 11-year sentence for actions the trial judge described as "sadistic".

But the Court of Appeal later reduced that term to nine years - half served behind bars and half on licence - after ruling that the starting point in the sentencing process was too high.

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