Advertisement
Advertisement
The man pleaded guilty at the High Court to two counts of rape. Photo: Fung Chang

Hong Kong man admits raping daughter twice, as son slept in same bed

Judge rejects idea that attacks came from ‘momentary recklessness’

A builder on Thursday admitted twice raping his underage daughter while his son slept in the same bed beside her.

The High Court heard of two other attacks in which the father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, molested the girl and attempted to rape her as she slept.

The man’s lawyer said his client felt so ashamed and remorseful that he had attempted suicide, for committing acts of such selfishness and “momentary recklessness”.

But deputy judge Mr Justice Johnny Chan Jong-herng was unconvinced by the idea of a “momentary” transgression, and rejected the defence’s argument, in mitigation, that the girl’s virginity was still intact.

A forensic pathologist who examined the girl had said the biological evidence of the attacks was not conclusive.

But the judge said of that mitigation: “It’s a very cruel thing to say to the victim. I don’t see how it will assist sentencing.”

The man pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of rape, one of attempted rape and another of indecent assault.

The abuse came to light last October when a passer-by overheard the girl recounting the attacks to a classmate, and called police.

It was later revealed the abuse spanned more than two years from March 2014, when the girl was only a Primary Six student aged 13.

The court heard the girl was sharing a bed with her father and younger brother during a visit to the mainland when she was first raped.

Months later at the family’s To Kwa Wan flat, the man crawled into his daughter’s lower bunk bed and molested her while her brother slept beside her.

That time his wife returned home, so he stopped the attack and returned to his upper bunk.

The girl slept against the wall the following night, but that did not stop her father from raping her.

Last October, the girl moved into a room of her own, where he attempted to rape her again.

The man’s semen was later found on her bedsheets.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 22, pending reports.

Hong Kong residents who break the law outside the city are still punishable under the Crimes Ordinance if the act constitutes an offence under the ordinance.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Man admits raping daughter twice
Post