'Lack of proof' Guinean tried to rape elderly Hong Kong woman, barrister argues
Court cannot rule out injuries on genitalia caused by punching, defence barrister says
Prosecutors failed to prove a Guinean man, 26, had any sexual motivation to try to rape a 63-year-old woman during their encounter in Kowloon City, the defence counsel told jurors in the High Court yesterday, citing an example of assault instead.
Ali Keita denies one count of attempted rape of the woman, named only as Madam X in court, in a back lane off Sung Wong Toi Road on January 9 last year.
According to testimony given by a forensic pathologist, bruises found on Madam X's private parts could have been caused by "punching and kicking", Keita's lawyer, Kevin Egan, noted.
This was a point of doubt in the prosecution's case, he said.
"The prosecution fails to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant's use of violence on Madam X was out of sexual motivation," Egan said in presenting final arguments on behalf of Keita. The defendant, a French speaker, had chosen not to testify in court.
The barrister went on to describe the example of a man who became interested in a woman at a bar, lost control and fondled her breast. Such an attack was driven by sexual motivation and would be considered indecent assault.
However, if the two were arguing and the man punched the woman in the same area, the punch could amount to only an "assault" instead of an act of sexual motivation, Egan said.
Earlier, the court heard that on the night of the said offence, Madam X was collecting cardboard boxes in the lane when she noticed Keita wanted to pee. She asked him to do so elsewhere, but he pushed her down, took off her underpants and tried to rape her.
Prosecutor Michael Arthur said Madam X's court evidence was supported by CCTV footage.
Keita was arrested at the scene, Arthur said. He told police at the time she had taken his bag and he was asking for it back.
He was 173cm tall, and yet he found the 131cm-tall Madam X very big and tough, "like an animal". He also accused her of hitting and chasing him. Arthur said: "What [Madam X] said was supported by the CCTV, but what [Keita] said was nonsense."
