Assault trial of Freemason in 2012 'unusual'
Janitor was cleared of abusing secretary in 2012 case that legal figures say was tinged with the perception of an 'old boys' network
The conduct of Freemasons in Hong Kong has come under renewed scrutiny after senior legal figures questioned the handling of alleged indecent assaults by a member at their Zetland Hall headquarters in Mid-Levels.
Two weeks after the Sunday Morning Post reported on accusations of a cover-up surrounding the theft of HK$500,000 from the hall, concerns have been raised over the 2012 trial of a Mason, with the chief prosecutor calling it "unusual".
The defendant, a janitor at the hall, was accused of assaulting a secretary but was acquitted after a three-day trial.
But lawyers consider it odd that a key prosecution witness worked alongside the man in the run-up to the trial, and that he was represented by two lawyers mentioned in Masonic documents as members.
Puja Kapai, deputy director of the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong, said there was no need to prove conspiracy for damage to be done.
"If people feel there is an old boys' network within the legal profession, the justice system has already failed them," she said.