Hong Kong man jailed over attempted indecent assault should not be given criminal conviction, his lawyers say in appeal
They say no matter how disgusting the act of exposing genitals behind his domestic helper at home was, it did not mean it was a criminal one
An employer jailed for exposing his genitals behind his domestic helper at home in 2014 should not be criminally convicted just because his behaviour was disgusting, his lawyers said during an appeal on Friday.
Shek Kwok-ngai was jailed for five weeks after he was found guilty of one count of attempted indecent assault last year at Kwun Tong Court.
His indecent act, which lasted six seconds, was discovered when the Filipino helper, whose identity was not revealed for legal reasons, reviewed video footage from a camera she had secretly set up.
In appealing against Shek’s conviction, senior counsel Selwyn Yu argued: “No matter how disgusting the behaviour, no matter how much the behaviour should be denounced, the last question to ask is whether he was guilty of a criminal act.”
He said that irrespective of how gross the act was, Shek had neither the intention nor hostility required to satisfy the indecent assault offence, because he never meant for the helper to find out. Yu suggested that Shek even attempted to conceal his act.