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A 60-year-old man was handed a seven-year term on Tuesday for raping and robbing HK$160 from a 13-year-old girl 40 years ago. The victim later suffered from depression and had committed suicide in 1999 at the age of 29.
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In the High Court today, the defendant Wong Chun-chuen pleaded guilty to a count of rape as he appeared before Recorder Derek Chan Ching-lung. The other count of robbery was left on court file.
During sentencing, Chan noted that although the reason victim “X” committed suicide remains unknown, the trauma brought on by Wong had stripped her of the chance of ever living a normal life. Chan recalled the testimony of X’s sister that X remained single since and had never dated anyone. X also couldn’t go to work for she remained hospitalized for an extended period.
Chan also pointed to a number of aggravating factors, such as the victim’s young age, her suffering from depression and ultimately her suicide. He added that Wong trespassed into a private premise that was supposed to be safe for X and the court must hand down a sentence with deterrent effect.
Yet, Chan noted that Wong slightly planned the robbery, however he committed the rape out of impulse, which was not considered as an aggravating factor.
Chan started the term at 10 years and reduced it to seven years and nine months over his guilty plea. Chan also believes Wong has changed for the better after he was released from prison in 2002 and further shortened the sentence to just seven years.
The case dated back to January 20, 1983, when X headed to her older sister’s home in the now-demolished San Fat Estate in Tuen Mun during lunch hours. Wong, aged 20 at the time, tailed X into the flat, threatened X with a knife, tied her up and then raped her.
X, with messy hair and injuries to her lips, rushed to a nearby police station and broke down in tears as she filed the report. She also told police about the pain and bleeding from her private parts.
Officers later seized tissues stained with blood and carrying semen at the scene. They also collected fingerprints from a drawer but couldn’t confirm the identity of the suspect who had remained at large ever since.
X later suffered from depression and had been going back and forth to Castle Peak Hospital after quitting school in secondary five. X was discharged from hospital on April 7, 1999, and jumped to her death at the age of 29 the same day.
Police were able to identify Wong after they computerized the fingerprints into a matching system in 2008 and issued a wanted notice to hunt him down but in vain. Wong was finally arrested on August 15, 2021, when he was stopped and searched by police in Tsuen Wan.
In the recorded meeting with police, Wong said he chose burglary targets in Sun Fat Estate randomly and admitted he picked X as his target that day after work. Yet, he claimed he couldn't remember whether he had raped her or not.
The prosecution revealed that since before this case up until 2000, Wong had committed eight other offenses including robbery, attempted burglary, and assault with intent to rob.
Outside the court building, police said Wong initially admitted only to robbing a small amount of money from X. After a series of court procedures including a plea bargain, Wong finally admitted to the heavier charge of rape.
Police hope the sentencing can give the victim’s family some closure and the victim can now rest in peace.
File photo.
