Internet trap leads to rape

The internet may be a social networking platform for people to keep in touch with one another. But some people use it for ulterior motives.

A Hong Kong teenager, 16, fell into a sex trap via the internet, the court heard, according to Chinese media reports. She said she was raped by a 35-year-old designer whom she met online. The man was found guilty and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.

The girl told the court she had wanted to become a teenage model and learned that the designer could find her work. They kept in touch online and, last year, he offered to train her in modelling at his home.

She testified that they drank beer and played cards. Then she was offered some white wine mixed with orange juice, which left her unconscious. When she woke up, she found she had been raped and photographed naked by the man.

He later sent her a text message saying he planned to upload her photos on the internet. He also said he had sexual disease. She called the police.

The defence lawyer told the court the man regretted what he had done, and that he had treated the teenager as his girlfriend then.

The judge said since the girl was only 16 when the incident happened, it was a serious case.