'Fortune teller' student nabbed over sex assault

A 20-year-old university student has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an 18-year-old teenager after luring her into a fortune-telling "ritual" that involved consuming two bottles of Chinese rice wine.

The suspect, Wong, a freshman at the Open University of Hong Kong, was arrested for indecent assault - an offense that is punishable with a maximum 10-year jail term - outside Kwai Fong MTR station on Monday afternoon, police said yesterday.

Officers said Wong admitted to getting handsy with the victim under caution and was being detained for questioning as of last night.

On March 11, Wong approached the victim - also a university student - on a street in Kwai Chung by asking her to fill in a questionnaire for academic purposes, they said.

"The suspect told the victim he would tell her fortune and the victim gave him her phone number," police said.

Kwai Tsing criminal investigation unit inspector Wong Lou-sa said the suspect later called the victim, asking to meet her at Kwai Fong Estate at 3pm on Sunday.

"The suspect took the victim to buy five bottles of Chinese rice wine, claiming that the liquor, with its high alcohol concentration, was for a fortune-telling ritual," Wong said.

The suspect then brought the victim to Central Kwai Chung Park on Tai Lin Pai Road, where the purported ritual was carried out.

"During the ritual, the suspect told the victim to drink two bottles of Chinese rice wine to complete the ritual," she said.

She said the victim consumed the two bottles of liquor as instructed and subsequently blacked out, adding that she did not regain consciousness in the park until seven hours later, with the suspect nowhere in sight.

"The victim woke up at 10pm on the same day in a disheveled state on the floor," Wong said.

"She believed she had been indecently violated by the suspect and therefore made a report to police."

Wong said the suspect - who is believed to have no knowledge of fortune-telling - was about 170 centimeters tall and of thin build.

"The suspect was wearing gold-framed glasses, a blue mask, an orange windbreaker, black trousers and black sneakers at the time of the incident," she said.

Police examined CCTV footage and examined the crime scene to collect evidence before the suspect was swooped.

Wong said police were looking into whether there were more victims and appealed to those who had fallen victim to similar incidents to make a report.

"Or if anyone is a witness to the latest incident, please contact District Investigation Team 6 of Kwai Tsing District at 3661 2971," she said.