Girl accused of lying about rape

A teenager changed her story when she discovered the man she accused of raping her had an alibi at the time, a defence lawyer said yesterday.

Auxiliary policeman Wu Chi-wai was said to be in a doctor's office at the time a 16-year-old girl claimed she met him in the lift of her building.

She said he followed her into her flat, made her submit to a strip search and raped her, the High Court heard. Wu, 29, denies rape and misconduct in a public office.

The girl made her original statement to police on June 15, last year - three weeks after the attack - saying she was at the building at 4 pm.

But in a statement 10 months later, she changed her story and told police she had left her boyfriend's flat at 4 pm and arrived at her building later, the court heard.

'The story you told is a pack of lies,' said defending lawyer John Dunn. 'I suggest you were told the defendant had an alibi and that he was at the doctor's office at 4.15. I suggest this change of mind 10 months later about when you got home or when you left your boyfriend's was brought about because the defendant could prove precisely where he was at that time.' But the girl said sloppy police work had led to the mix-up and the officer taking the original statement misunderstood her.