HK court convicts four in brutal Christmas kidnap and rape of 13-year-old girl over gang dispute

Four young people were convicted on Monday in Hong Kong's High Court for the Christmas 2021 kidnapping and rape of a 13-year-old girl, in a case that began when the victim tried to stand up for a friend against a gang.

The main defendant, 20-year-old Chan Wang-fung, wept uncontrollably in the dock as he pleaded for bail and a suspended sentence, insisting he was innocent and that his family still did not know about the guilty verdict.

Justice Judianna Wai-ling Barnes told him that all seven jurors had found him guilty and that leniency was impossible; he could appeal if he wished, but the sentence would not be light.

Chan, who was in Secondary Two at the time of the offense, faces charges of rape, kidnapping, assault, and making child pornography, alongside co-defendants Lam Yau-ching (19, a delivery worker), Koey Li Pui-yee (18), and Cheung Ho-lun (20, a vocational training student).

The group abducted the girl—referred to as X—on Christmas night 2021 and took her to a flat in Tsim Sha Tsui's San Lin Dao, where she was stripped, beaten, filmed, and raped.

The court heard that X, from a single-parent family, had briefly dated Lam after meeting a group of friends online, some linked to triads.

Days earlier, X had confronted Chan after he pressured one of her friends into a scam that cost him HK$20,000. He demanded repayment.

On December 25, X was lured to the flat, where more than a dozen of Chan's associates were present. She was forced to undress while being filmed, then punched and kicked by Lee and others. Tea and beer were poured over her head.

Later, Chan took X to a nearby bar, then back to the flat, where he locked her in a room, forced oral sex and intercourse, and made her record a video apologizing and promising to repay the money by December 30.

He gave her HK$100 for a taxi home. Her mother noticed injuries two days later and contacted a social worker, leading to the police report.

X testified that Li slapped her over a hundred times and that Chan punched a wall while demanding she comply. After escaping, she sought help from another triad figure, who arranged temporary shelter—but there she was also assaulted.

The judge ordered psychological, reformatory, and trauma reports for the defendants and victim.

All four remain in custody and will be sentenced on November 14.