A pastor who helped jailed fung shui guru Peter Chan Chun-chuen to become a Christian was yesterday jailed for four months for molesting a 16-year-old girl during two 15-minute attempts to exorcise the devil from her.
But in a letter asking the court to show leniency, the victim, now 25, wrote: "Please do not negate his selfless contribution to many people, including me."
The court also heard that the victim wanted Titus Poon Man-shun, 46, to lead the prayers at her wedding next year.
Poon had earlier pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting the girl, who was a member of the church, by fondling her breasts on two occasions in the office of his church in April 2004. The court heard that the victim did not tell anyone about the attacks.
Delivering the sentence, Magistrate Don So Man-lung said: "The defendant abused and was unworthy of the victim's trust."
But So said the victim's forgiveness was a strong mitigating factor because she was now mature enough to assess Poon's guilt and the trauma of the attack.