An Indonesian maid was sentenced to five months in jail for agreeing to have sex with her employer's 14-year-old son after they watched pornographic films on the internet.
Saying it was a peculiar offence, District Court Judge Andrew Chan Hing-wai imposed the jail term yesterday that resulted in the immediate release of Suwartin, who had been detained since her arrest on January 13. He said a short jail term was adequate, considering that her deportation after release would bring her further hardship.
The 45-year-old maid pleaded guilty on May 6 to five counts of committing an indecent act towards an under-age child, admitting that she had had sex with the boy on five occasions between August and January. She pleaded not guilty to three similar charges, which were ordered to be left on file as the prosecution had decided not to proceed on them.
Prosecutor Alex Ng told the court earlier that Suwartin had been invited by the boy to view pornographic videos together at the boy's home in August and he had taken the initiative to have sex with her afterwards.
However, the court heard, Suwartin incited the boy to have sex on the last three occasions.
In sentencing, Judge Chan said there was no evidence to suggest the offence involved a breach of trust or that the boy's morality had been corrupted.
He said the only distress the boy suffered would be the 'confusion' created by the incidents and 'the victim's inability to handle this purely physical relationship'.