A US sailor was fined $2,000 yesterday for slapping a woman on the bottom in Tsim Sha Tsui on Saturday evening, a day after he arrived in Hong Kong aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation.
Petty Officer Salinas Gilbert, 21, was also ordered to pay $1,000 compensation to Wong Siu-li.
Magistrate Ernest Lin Kam-hung told Gilbert: 'You should be ashamed of yourself behaving in this manner. You have brought shame on the people of your country.'
Kowloon City Court heard that the sailor smacked the victim's right buttock at 6.30pm on Saturday while she was leaning against the railings on the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade with her boyfriend.
The boyfriend shouted at Gilbert and chased him as he fled towards Hunghom.
When the boyfriend caught up with him and stopped him, Gilbert said: 'I don't care. American law will protect me,' the court heard.
According to the prosecution, Gilbert then suddenly knelt on the ground and pressed his body against the railings as if to jump into the sea.