Hong Kong police officer denies raping woman in Kowloon hotel
Court hears man begged victim not to report him to authorities after raping and impregnating her
A police officer called himself “scum” and went down on his knee to beg a woman not to call law enforcement on him after he allegedly raped and impregnated her, a Hong Kong court heard on Monday.
But Lee Wai-ka had not been so apologetic from the start, according to prosecutors, who said he first told the woman, drunk at the time, she was too “crazy” to have sex with when he was confronted by her on the night of the alleged attack in 2016.
“I feel so ashamed … I wanted to go home,” the woman, referred to as X to protect her identity, testified in court on Monday. She recalled waking up naked at a hotel in Kowloon Tong on June 19 last year.
It was not until the woman later found out she was pregnant, and that her friend, a social worker, confronted Lee, bluffing that they had called the police, did Lee allegedly admit to the attack, prosecutor Susanna Ku Pui-fong said.
On Monday, Lee, 30, denied one count of rape.
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Opening her case, Ku told the jury of seven that X and Lee first met through a group dedicated to online gaming. They met in person for the first time about a week before the alleged incident, when the group gathered for karaoke, after which Lee drove her home. They met on two more occasions that week.
On June 19, Ku said, X was invited to a bar in Tsim Sha Tsui for a party arranged by Lee’s friend.
X drank “to oblivion”, the prosecutor said, and she was taken by Lee to the Kowloon Tong hotel.
There, Ku alleged, Lee raped her.
When she woke up, X asked if Lee had had sex with her, but the police officer denied it, Ku said. “You were crazy last night and hit me repeatedly,” the prosecutor quoted Lee as telling X at the time. He would not be able to make any advance even if he wanted to, Lee told X, Ku said.
Giving her evidence behind a screen on Monday, X confirmed Lee’s phone carried three pictures of her, taken without her noticing.
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Ku said X confirmed she was pregnant on July 5. By that time still, Lee, when confronted, maintained his denial through WhatsApp messages, suspecting others, saying X got drunk often, the prosecutor said.
But the man made a U-turn, she said, after X’s friend, a social worker, sent him a text message claiming that they had notified the police. Lee then claimed that he and X were a couple, and that the intercourse was consensual, according to the prosecutor.
Two days later, he showed up at X’s residence, claiming to be “scum” and in tears, Ku said. He promised X he would pay for an abortion, while X took his identity card and return home card, the court heard.
But Lee had not paid up, Ku said, but instead, he threatened X that he would sue her for blackmail.
X eventually went to the police, Ku said.
A forensic scientist from the government confirmed that Lee was the father of the child, the prosecutor said.
The case continues before deputy High Court judge Poon Siu-tung on Tuesday.
