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A 24-year-old man has gone on trial in the High Court, accused of engaging in incest and committing indecent acts with his younger sister a decade ago, when she was between seven and ten years old.
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The defendant, identified by the initials L.H.C.N., faces four counts of incest and three counts of committing an indecent act towards a child under the age of 16. Prosecutors allege that the acts took place on multiple occasions between September 2013 and July 2016 at a residential unit in Hong Kong. The trial opened on Thursday and will continue on Friday.
Repeated sexual acts while alone at home
Opening the case for the prosecution, the counsel told the court that the victim, referred to as X, lived in Sha Tau Kok with her family, including her parents, grandparents, great-grandmother, domestic helper, and two older brothers, with the defendant being her second elder brother.
At the time of the alleged offenses, X was between seven and ten years old, while the defendant was aged between 11 and 14.
According to the prosecution, the first incident occurred in X's bedroom while the two were alone using mobile phones.
The defendant initiated the act, and X complied. Around a month later, the defendant proposed another sexual encounter.
Roughly a week after that, X performed a sexual act on the defendant in the living room, followed by another act in the bathroom at his request.
Further incidents occurred about two weeks later, involving multiple sexual acts in both the living room and the bedroom on the same day.
Prosecution relies on defendant's police admissions
The court heard that X reported the matter to the police in December 2021. However, the prosecution will not call X to testify in court during this trial.
Instead, the prosecution's case will rely heavily on admissions made by the defendant during police inquiries and recorded interviews.
When initially arrested under suspicion of rape, the defendant admitted to the police officer that he had committed the acts, expressing regret while noting his young age at the time. He subsequently admitted to all seven charges during a video-recorded interview.
Teacher testimony to establish awareness and maturity
To counter any suggestion that the acts were merely childhood play, the prosecution plans to call the defendant's primary and secondary school teachers to testify.
The teachers will confirm that he had received sex education and was fully aware at the time that his actions were wrong and illegal.
Prosecutors emphasized that the repeated nature of the acts demonstrated a high level of maturity compared to typical children his age.
They noted that during police interviews, the defendant demonstrated a clear understanding of the consequences of his actions, including why he avoided internal ejaculation during the sexual encounters.
