Hong Kong asks how it can protect daughters from their abusive fathers after another horrific rape case
- A father who drunkenly raped his 15-year-old daughter was jailed this week in the latest case of child sex abuse by a parent – a phenomenon experts say has been growing among cross-border families
- Twelve cases have been dealt with by the High Court since January last year involving a father who had raped his daughter
They are all called “X” in court because they cannot be named. Aged between 11 and 24, these girls and young women give searing accounts of sexual abuse as they testify against their rapists – their fathers.
In one of the most recent cases the courts dealt with, “X” described how her father forced her to watch pornography before he molested her for the first time when she was nine. He went on to force her to perform oral sex on him, molested her repeatedly, and eventually raped her.
Her 63-year-old father was jailed for nine years and three months on March 11 after he was found guilty of one count of rape and five counts of indecent assault.
The man, whose wife was from mainland China, showed little remorse. He brushed off his repeated sex attacks on his child, telling a probation officer: “It’s like eating ... It tastes good. Would you eat it only once?”
That was one of 12 cases involving a father who raped his daughter, and dealt with by the Hong Kong High Court since January 2018.
Social Welfare Department records for 2013 to 2017 show an average of 22 cases each year of children suffering sexual abuse at the hands of their parents – mainly fathers.