Black-clad rioters set fire on a street in Sai Wan Ho in south China's Hong Kong, Nov. 11, 2019. (Xinhua)

The wife of the man who was set on fire in Hong Kong last week called for an end to ongoing violence and thanked Hongkongers and Chinese mainland people who have expressed concern about his health.   

On November 11, 57-year-old Lee Chi-cheung, a construction worker, confronted a group of masked rioters after they vandalized the Ma On Shan MTR station. He was then doused by angry rioters with flammable fluid and set alight.

Video footage circulated online showed that the upper half of his body was on fire. 

The doctors identified that Lee had burns to nearly 50 percent of his body.

Lee's wife, who asked not to be identified, said in a group interview that her husband is still in intensive care and is in a coma after undergoing two skin graft surgeries on his hands and head.

She said she constantly talked to him to keep him clear-minded, although she did not know whether her husband could hear her.

The wife said that till now, she and their two daughters and a son could not accept the reality and she was too sad to sleep at night.

"Hong Kong is becoming frightening. I hope the rioters can stop and do not leave more people like my husband injured," she said, adding that her husband is a man of justice and patriotic.

The wife also said her husband had been greatly affected by the months-long protests, as before June he could earn HK$30,000 ($3,833) monthly, but since the social unrest broke out he could only earn about HK$10,000 a month.  

The Hong Kong police have classified the case as attempted murder. They arrested one woman and one man suspected of being at the scene of the attack for participating in an illegal assembly. The two suspects were released on bail Wednesday.

Lee's wife said she believes police will try their best and she trusts judicial justice in Hong Kong.

Many Hongkongers have condemned the attack on Lee. The tragedy also touched the heart of millions of mainland people. 

Mainland netizens have set up a special assistance fund online for Lee and for the family of another elderly man, a 70-year-old cleaner who died after being hit on head with a brick by a rioter during clashes. So far, more than 30,000 people have donated a total of more than 2 million yuan ($284,000).

Lee's wife said she was not aware of the donation drive, but she thanked all the people who showed solicitude toward her husband and their family.