A Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) associate professor was acquitted on Monday of two counts of indecent assault against a visiting female scholar, with the magistrate finding the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
The defendant, Peng Peng, an associate professor in CUHK’s Department of Fine Arts, was accused of indecently assaulting a woman identified in court as X on two occasions in Ma On Shan on May 21, 2025.
The court heard that Peng and X had met on campus earlier that day for an art exhibition before traveling to Ma On Shan for dinner.
In the first alleged incident, Peng was accused of placing his hand around X’s waist and hip area while the pair were crossing a road. X did not object at the time because she felt nervous, the court heard.
Peng was also accused of touching X’s buttocks for about 10 seconds while they were looking at a fish tank at a restaurant. X later learned that Peng was married and reported the matter to police after the meal.
Delivering his verdict at Sha Tin Magistrates’ Courts, Magistrate Raymond Wong Kwok-fai found there was insufficient evidence to establish that Peng had intentionally indecently touched X while they were crossing the road, noting that both were moving at the time.
Wong therefore acquitted Peng of the first charge, relating to the alleged incident near a taxi stand on Chak Cheung Street.
In considering the second charge, the magistrate referred to email and WeChat exchanges between the pair in the two months before the incident.
Wong noted that X had described a previous walk around the university as an “unforgettable campus adventure” and had wished Peng success in securing a promotion.
The pair later exchanged WeChat contacts, while Peng had made remarks referring to X as “the most beautiful scenery.”
Taking their previous exchanges into account, Wong found that the pair appeared to have had mutual affection and that the prosecution could not exclude the possibility that Peng mistakenly believed X had consented to the touching.
The magistrate also noted that X continued chatting with Peng for about two hours afterward.
Peng was consequently acquitted of the second indecent assault charge as well.
