Hong Kong  - A father who kicked and stomped his 3-year-old son, rupturing his intestines and liver, was jailed for two years by a Hong Kong court, a newspaper reported Friday.

Lo Siu-ting, 24, had previously been convicted of mistreating the boy's 5-year-old brother, the Standard said.

Lo, who pleaded guilty to wounding the 3-year-old, said the incident occurred during a dispute with his pregnant 23-year-old wife.

Prosecutors said Lo kicked his wife out of bed and told her to take care of the son. When she turned on the lights and switched on the television, he hit her, they said. Lo then kicked his son four or five times when he was hugging his mother on the floor, they added.

Lo later woke up and found his son groaning in pain. The boy was taken to hospital where he was kept in intensive care for seven days and underwent two operations.

"Children are not the punchbags of adults," District Court Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi told Lo at his sentencing. "They are not an adult's private property. The court has to send a strong message that society does not tolerate such offenders."

In 2006, Lo and his wife were put on 18 months of probation after being convicted of tying up and beating their eldest son, then 2, with a cane.

The boys now live with foster families. (dpa)