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SCMP Reporter

A teenage kitchen worker has been jailed for four years for raping a 16-year-old girl in the office of a fast-food restaurant in front of two colleagues.
A mobile phone was used to film the incident and the video was later distributed online.
Ho Ka-kit, now 18, was handed the sentence in the Court of First Instance as police said they were still trying to find out who put the video on the internet.
Mrs Justice Judianna Barnes Wai-ling  said Ho's actions had left the victim wondering 'why someone she trusted could have done this to her'. 
The victim had kept silent about the incident for several months, until the video was widely circulated in September last year, prompting massive media coverage and complaints to police by viewers and the Yoshinoya fast-food chain, which owned the restaurant. 
Senior  Inspector Miu Ho-ming of the commercial crime bureau said outside court that the identity of the person who posted the video online was still not known.  
Investigations so far had  established only that the person who filmed the rape with his mobile phone had passed the video to a  colleague.
An officer familiar with the investigation said police would conduct a separate investigation into the distribution of the video.
'There is a challenge in the investigation as the video clip was so widespread, but police will do their best to find out who first put this obscene material on the Web,' the officer added.
Under the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance, the publisher of an indecent article is liable to a fine of up to HK$400,000 and 12 months' imprisonment. 
Ho, who had pleaded not guilty, was earlier found guilty of raping the victim on May 18 last year inside a manager's room of the Sha Tin restaurant in front of two colleagues - assistant shop manager Kewell Li Hau-chung,  19, and student Ma Ho-kan,  16. 
Li and Ma pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting rape and were acquitted on August 13. 
The court heard Li had used his mobile phone to film the incident and had later given a copy to  another restaurant worker.
Barnes said there was no evidence to suggest who had uploaded the video, but  its circulation online had definitely damaged the victim psychologically. 
She noted the victim had  asked Li to stop filming, first using her hand to cover her mouth, then raising her upper garment to cover her face, leaving other parts of her body exposed.
 The judge yesterday refused to award legal costs to Li and Ma despite their acquittal, saying their conduct had attracted suspicion. She particularly condemned Li for having 'shamefully' filmed the assault and sharing the video with  colleagues, which was 'an aggressive intrusion of the victim's privacy'.
Barnes said Ho had acted selfishly, seeking his own sexual gratification and ignoring the protests of the victim, who he knew had a long-standing affection for him. 
'Even if she were your girlfriend, you should have sought her consent before you had sex,' the judge said. 
She said a psychological report showed Ho did not have any psychological condition but had misconceptions about sex and required counselling. 
The judge also accepted the case was not the worst of its kind, as Ho had not used violence or physical abuse to control the victim.
Reciting from an impact report on the girl, the judge said  the victim had tried to suppress her feelings, acting as if it had never happened, and had  suffered mild depression. 
'She could not believe this kind of thing could have happened to her, and she questioned why someone she trusted could have done this to her,' the judge said.



Jail for rape videoed by colleague