HK businessman denies rape charge in court over alleged break-in assault on ex-girlfriend

A 34-year-old businessman pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a single count of rape in High Court, standing trial before a seven-member jury for allegedly breaking into his ex-girlfriend's apartment last year and assaulting her against her will.

The allegations stem from late May 2024, targeting defendant Chu Kong-pak, accused of forcing himself on his 33-year-old former partner, known in court as X, at her Kwai Chung iCITY flat.

Prosecutors detailed in opening statements how the pair met in November 2019, started dating in February 2020, and cohabited for four years. 

The relationship ended abruptly that April when X bought the apartment and began seeing another man, prompting a breakup on May 21.

X notified Chu of the split, and he agreed to cease contact. 

Four days later, after allowing him to collect his belongings, she felt uneasy about his push for an in-person talk and requested a police escort. With officers on site, Chu gathered his items, left, and vowed no further outreach.

That promise reportedly crumbled the next morning at around 7.30am, when X woke to discover Chu naked and advancing toward her bed. 

He grabbed her phone, restrained her hands, and expressed his desire for one last intimate act before parting ways forever. 

X rejected him outright, cautioning about the severe penalties for rape, but Chu brushed off her pleas, claiming fearlessness even of death, and carried out the assault amid her futile resistance, the court was told.

Afterward, while Chu was briefly out of sight, X tried to escape but was caught before the elevator and dragged back, suffering a light slap to her thigh. 

Around 9am, as he proposed they sleep, she covertly texted her new boyfriend about Chu's lingering presence. 

The boyfriend soon arrived, found Chu nude at the door, and swiftly removed X before calling police.

Officers arrested Chu near 1 pm; under caution, he conceded to sex with X but described it as consensual.