Hong Kong police officer jailed for rape of woman he met through online gaming acquitted on appeal
- Court of Appeal rules that trial judge misdirected the jury in assessing comments about the 2016 assault
- Lee Wai-ka, 31, remains in detention as prosecutors consider retrial
A Hong Kong police officer who was jailed for 5½ years after a jury found him guilty of raping a woman he met online has won an appeal against his conviction.
Lee Wai-ka, 31, was sentenced in January 2018 after a jury voted 5-2 in favour of prosecutors to find him guilty of raping the woman, identified only as X, in a hotel in Kowloon Tong on June 19, 2016.
But the Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday that Lee’s trial judge had misdirected the jury in assessing his comments about the alleged assault – and acquitted him.
Lee remains in detention, however, because he might face the charge again if prosecutors request a retrial.
A Department of Justice spokesman said: “We will study the judgment of the Court of Appeal and the case report of the prosecutor in order to determine whether we would seek a retrial.”
Prosecutors have 14 days to file an application.
