THREE young men found guilty of raping a 15-year-old prostitute were freed yesterday when the Court of Appeal ruled that their convictions were unsafe and unsatisfactory.
The Chief Justice, Sir Ti Liang Yang, supported the convictions, but Vice-President Mr Justice Macdougall and Mr Justice Barnett opposed.
They said that in the course of his summing-up, the trial judge expressed an opinion based on hearsay evidence, which was inadmissible.
They quashed the convictions and set aside the nine-year jail term imposed on Yuen King-lok and the eight-year terms on Lee Chi-wai and Leung Yiu-wa.
Mr Yuen, 19, Mr Lee, 22, and Mr Leung, 24, were found guilty of rape in June last year by Deputy Judge Sharwood.
The Crown alleged Mr Yuen pimped for the girl.