Injuries found on a domestic helper after she accused her solicitor boss of rape were consistent with her allegations, a government pathologist said yesterday.
Prosecution witness Cheung Ka-wai examined the woman, one of several helpers employed by Dixon Tang Kwok-wah, a few hours after she dialled 999 to report the alleged rape to the police.
Tang, 45, denies raping the woman once and indecently assaulting her five times last year at his five-storey house in Aberdeen.
Dr Cheung told the Court of First Instance she found a 3cm by 1.5cm bruise on the right side of the woman's forehead. It appeared to be fresh, caused within the previous couple of days. The doctor said there was also a small area of abrasions to the skin on the side of her head, overlying dried clots of blood.
Three parallel marks 1cm to 2cm long were found on the helper's back, the expert witness told the court. She said there was also a 'dusky red bruise' on the outer side of the left forearm and another on the inside of the right forearm.
Prosecutor Wayne Moultrie asked: 'Collectively, the injuries which you saw . . . do they mean anything to you?' Dr Cheung replied: 'Collectively, if you consider the injuries as a whole picture, they are consistent with the victim's allegations and complaints.' Christopher Grounds, defending, pointed out that the doctor had described the bruise on the woman's forehead as 'faint'. He suggested this meant it was 'barely visible'. Dr Cheung agreed but said this was because of the woman's dark skin. Referring to all the bruises found on the woman, Mr Grounds said: 'You cannot say . . . whether or not they are self-inflicted.' Dr Cheung replied: 'Of course, if you look at these injuries alone, all these injuries could be self-inflicted.' Marks on the helper's head could have been caused by it coming into contact with pieces from her broken hair clip, later found in the bedroom where the alleged rape occurred, the court heard. But the doctor said the parallel marks on the woman's back, although possibly caused in this way, were more consistent with scratch marks.
