Man cleared of unlawful sex

A man was cleared yesterday of having unlawful sex with a mentally handicapped woman.

Deputy Judge Mary Yuen Lai-wah found that the 43-year-old man, a recovered schizophrenic, was not guilty because he might not have been able to tell whether the woman was retarded or a schizophrenic.

The prosecution told the District Court the 34-year-old woman told her mother on August 2 last year that she had been raped by the defendant.

Three days later, police arrested the man at the centre where he and the alleged victim worked.

Under caution, the defendant told the police he had sex with her on August 1.

He claimed the woman had consented and they had held hands after having sex.