Former Hong Kong police officer jailed for 4 years over sex offences against son
- Jury finds 48-year-old guilty of four indecency offences involving his 15-year-old son
- High Court Justice Alex Lee says defendant corrupted mind of his teenage son
A former Hong Kong police officer has been jailed for four years over indecency offences against a minor after a jury found him guilty of forcing his son to watch pornography and perform a lewd act on himself.
High Court Justice Alex Lee Wan-tang on Thursday said the 48-year-old defendant had corrupted the mind of his teenage son and indoctrinated him with a distorted perception of sex with his “depraved” acts.
“The defendant shockingly and shamelessly committed the offences over and over again in serious breach of his police duties and public’s confidence in the police force,” Lee said.
The disgraced officer, who has been anonymised by the court to protect his son’s identity, was convicted last month of four indecency offences comprising two counts of indecent conduct towards a child and two counts of inciting a child to commit a grossly indecent act by a jury vote of seven to two.
But he was cleared of two other counts of indecent conduct, one of inciting a child to commit a grossly indecent act, and one of child cruelty.
During the trial, the son, now 15, recalled that his father had made him watch obscene video footage, showed him his genitalia and forced him to engage in indecent conduct on multiple occasions between 2016 and 2018, with the first incident taking place when he was just 10.
The ex-policeman had threatened to beat him with a rattan stick or a kitchen knife if he had refused to comply, the teenager said.
Most of the charges stemmed from alleged incidents of abuse in a flat in Tuen Mun, with one offence alleged to have happened in a Macau hotel. The convictions all related to two incidents in Tuen Mun.
The defendant was sacked in May 2020 following two occasions of unauthorised absence.
A victim impact report said the child felt ashamed and disgusted with himself, and was twice hospitalised in early 2019 for “management of his suicidal ideation”.
The boy had difficulty concentrating in his classes, was prone to emotional fluctuations, and lacked a sense of security and trust in others, the report found, adding he required long-term psychological support.
The boy’s mother, who has separated from the defendant, blamed herself for being unable to protect her son and experienced a low mood for nearly a year after the offences came to light, the court heard.
A government psychologist said he was unable to assess the defendant’s risk of reoffending as the latter appeared “guarded and evasive” during interviews.
In mitigation, defence counsel Manyi Tsang pointed to a lack of evidence showing her client treated the victim as an object of sexual desire, or approached his son by taking advantage of his official position.
“The present case is a tragedy. The defendant has committed very foolish acts,” she said.
But Lee countered: “This tragedy was the result of his own choice.”
Lee sentenced the defendant to prison for 23 to 27 months for each guilty offence, amounting to four years behind bars.
The former officer has also been prosecuted in two other cases where he faces a total of 33 charges of fraud, attempted fraud, theft and child abuse involving a separate minor.
He is expected to plead guilty to 25 fraud-related charges before the District Court on November 30. He will stand trial over the child abuse case in September next year.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, or you know someone who is, help is available. For Hong Kong, dial +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services.
