Hong Kong man accused of rape two days after wife gave birth
Prosecutor says he attacked wife’s friend in Mong Kok flat
A man allegedly talked his wife’s friend into visiting him two days after his baby was born and raped her in his Mong Kok flat, a court heard yesterday.
The High Court heard that Liberian Johnson Benjamin, 34, told the woman that something had happened to his wife, so that the woman, referred to in court as “X”, would meet him in his flat on June 18, 2015.
He allegedly told X that they should first meet at his place before going to check on his wife, Sarah, in the hospital because he needed to fetch something.
Prosecutor John Marray alleged that while in the flat, the defendant raped X.
The man denied one count of rape, one of indecent assault, and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Testifying from behind a screen to protect her identity, X said she met Benjamin’s wife when they worked together as receptionists at a music centre. She met the man for the first time when they came to her place to visit a rabbit which the wife temporarily entrusted to X at the time.
Since then X and the defendant would exchange text messages, in which the latter would ask X about her daughter and her husband’s business.
On June 17, Benjamin texted her: “Sarah born baby yesterday.”
The next day, the defendant texted X again, saying his wife had a problem. That was when he allegedly asked her to join him.
The prosecutor told the jury that when X got to Benjamin's place, she followed the man to a room, thinking he was getting something important.
“The defendant closed the door and pushed her to a bed,” he said.
He alleged that Benjamin then raped X and punched her a few times when she struggled.
She tried to escape, but he stopped her and forced her to perform oral sex, the lawyer said.
Benjamin fell asleep, and X called police after meeting up with her friend and boyfriend, Marray alleged. X suffered multiple bodily injuries, he said.
The case continues before Deputy High Court Judge Mr Justice Gareth Lugar-Mawson.
