The High Court continued the trial of five men accused of committing various sexual offenses against a 14-year-old girl they allegedly met through a dating app. The proceedings focused on allegations against a 31-year-old firefighter accused of non-consensual anal intercourse during a hotel room encounter.
The defendants are 28-year-old primary school teacher Tam Siu-chun, 33-year-old land executive Chan Ka-ming, 24-year-old engineering intern Ng Kai-ching, 31-year-old firefighter Tso Kit-ting, and 28-year-old YouTuber Wong Pak-hong. Each man faces one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 and one count of committing an act of gross indecency with a child.
In addition, Tso faces a separate charge of non-consensual buggery, while Wong faces two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Giving evidence via video link, the victim, identified as X, testified that she met Tso through the mobile dating application Heymandi and subsequently agreed to meet him at a hotel. She recounted that the two took a shower before engaging in oral sex and sexual intercourse.
Although she was menstruating heavily, the sexual activity continued, during which Tso allegedly initiated anal intercourse. She told the court that she experienced acute physical pain, demanded that he stop, and explicitly told him she did not consent.
The complainant stated that after Tso ceased the act and they showered together once more, she proceeded to engage in further oral sex and intercourse with him. When questioned about their departure, she acknowledged being confused about whether they had left the hotel premises separately or together.
Defense challenges victim's credibility and post-incident conduct
During cross-examination, the defense contended that the victim had fabricated her allegations of oral, vaginal, and anal intercourse, suggesting that her inconsistent recollections about leaving the hotel stemmed from dishonesty.
The defense maintained that anal intercourse had never taken place and argued that had such an assault occurred, she would have immediately reported it to the police at the time, which she failed to do.
The defense further pressed the complainant on why she agreed to shower with Tso and perform oral sex on him immediately after an alleged assault that caused her pain. X explained that she believed the defendant had returned to normal behavior, which prompted her to continue.
When asked by Judge Anthony Kwok Kai-on whether she felt anger following the alleged assault, X responded that she experienced severe physical pain rather than emotional distress, adding that once the defendant stopped, she chose to treat the episode as if it had not happened and put it behind her.
She also told the judge that she did not believe he would attempt the act again.
