Guangdong official accused of rape in Australia acquitted for 'insufficient evidence'
The 44 year old urban planner's passport was returned after the case was dismissed on Monday
A Guangdong official who was charged with raping a tour guide assigned to his group when he visited Melbourne as a government delegate in August has been acquitted by a local court due to lack of evidence.
Melbourne Magistrates Court said on Monday that the evidence was not sufficient to establish that “Song Jinsong was aware the woman was not consenting to sexual activity or may not have been consenting”, Australian newspaper The Age reported.
Song, 44, who heads an urban planning institute in Guangzhou, and the tour guide, a 34 year old university student, were heavily drunk after a dinner at a restaurant at Melbourne’s Crown casino, according to the court hearing.
The woman’s level of intoxication was described as "legless" and she allegedly "flirted" with him, the newspaper reported.
She claimed Song assaulted her in his room after being taken there by a woman from Song’s delegation.
Song was bailed in August, on condition that he surrendered his passport and report daily to police in Melbourne.