Hong Kong police arrest man suspected of raping woman in her Tuen Mun flat
Suspect was released from jail earlier this year after indecent assault and robbery conviction
A 28-year-old Hongkonger, who was released from prison earlier this year after being convicted of indecent assault and robbery and jailed for six years, was arrested on Sunday night in connection with a rape at a Tuen Mun public housing estate.
The victim, 30, reported on Friday evening that she had been ambushed and raped in her flat at Po Tin Estate as she was on her way out the door that morning.
“Fingerprints collected at the crime scene led police to identify the suspect, and descriptions of him matched the image of the man captured by a surveillance camera in the public housing block,” a police source said.
Officers went to his home in Tuen Mun in the early hours of Saturday but failed to find him. A citywide manhunt was then launched. It was understood he did not return home after the alleged sex attack.
A team of detectives was deployed to check cyber cafes and game centres in Mong Kok after investigations revealed he patronised such entertainment venues in the area.
The two-day manhunt ended when officers intercepted the suspect outside a cyber cafe on Argyle Street in Mong Kok at about 11pm Sunday.
The man, who lives with his parents in Tuen Mun, had been unemployed after his release from prison earlier this year. It was understood his previous offence also took place in Tuen Mun.
On Monday afternoon, he was still being held for questioning and had not been charged. Officers from the Tuen Mun district crime squad were handling the case.
According to the police report, the woman, who lives alone, had just left her flat when a man waiting outside the door “pushed her back” inside, where he raped her and then fled. The woman contacted her social worker and called police after he left.
When the victim opened the door, he pushed her back into the flat
Police believe the suspect had tailed the victim home and taken the same lift as her. After learning where she lived, the suspect waited for her in the corridor.
The woman suffered no major physical injuries, and the man did not steal anything.
After checking CCTV footage, police on Sunday said they were seeking information about a Chinese man, aged about 28 to 30, 1.7 metres in height and of medium build. He had dark complexion, short black hair – partly dyed gold – and spoke fluent Cantonese. He was wearing a grey T-shirt, blue shorts and black shoes.
Police figures show there were 23 reports of rape in the city in the first four months of this year – up 76.9 per cent compared with 13 cases over the same period last year. Reports of indecent assault also rose, by 11 per cent to 311, in the first four months of this year; there were 280 such reports over the same period last year.
