Hong Kong police officer denies molesting woman doctor in 'search'
Police officer's counsel raises doubts about alleged victim's account
A police constable took a medical doctor who had just been released from custody back into police headquarters and molested her under the guise of conducting a body search, a court heard on Thursday.
But counsel for defendant Kong Ho-wan raised doubts about the alleged victim's account of events and questioned whether the senior inspector in charge of the case had a conflict of interest.
Kong yesterday pleaded not guilty to one count of indecent assault and one count of misconduct in public office at Eastern Court.
The prosecution argued that, shortly after midnight on January 13, Kong took the doctor, referred to only as "X" for legal reasons, into a female bathroom at police headquarters in Wan Chai.
There, the court heard, the officer slipped his hand into her bra, then lowered her underwear and looked at her private parts for two seconds. The woman had just been released on police bail after being arrested for shoplifting the previous day, the court heard.
But Cheng Huan SC, for Kong, cast doubt over X's witness statement as he questioned Senior Inspector Wong Sau-kwan, the officer in charge of the case.