Hong Kong construction worker jailed for 10 years for raping Indonesian domestic helper slammed by judge for showing no remorse
- Fung Hoi-yeung showed ‘utter contempt’ for his victim, says Madam Justice Audrey Campbell-Moffat
- Judge also says defendant’s mother and sister lied in court in attempt to help him get away with it
A Hong Kong man who showed no remorse after he raped his Indonesian domestic helper five days into her job was jailed for 10 years by a court on Wednesday.
Fung Hoi-yeung, 27, was found guilty last month after the jury rejected his claim that the victim kept his semen-stained underwear and put the fluid on her clothes and sheets to frame him so she could obtain severance fees and repay loans.
Defence counsel Chan Pak-kong argued in mitigation that the offence was committed on the spur of the moment by a man of previous good character, while his sisters and a friend wrote letters that portrayed him as a good father and son.
But that was dismissed by Madam Justice Audrey Campbell-Moffat, who slammed the construction worker for carrying out a planned attack and mounting a defence that showed persistent denial, “absolutely no remorse” and “utter disdain for the criminal justice system”.
“In this case there was a gross breach of trust in respect of the employer-employee relationship,” she said. “Not only did you violate her in a way she will never forget, you put her through a trial, you showed utter contempt for her.”
The judge also noted that Fung had treated his helper with “total disrespect” – hurling verbal abuse to “belittle, demean and undermine” her even before the rape – and observed that even his elder sister, who wrote in mitigation, could not get her nationality right, thinking she was Indian.
“Clearly somebody thought it was OK to rape a foreign domestic helper, that he’s superior, that he could scold her one minute and rape her the next,” she said. “She was tiny.”
The High Court heard the offence took place at 3am on October 21, 2017 when Fung’s mother was away from their public housing unit in Tin Shui Wai, five days after the 25-year-old started working for the family of eight.
The helper, who is also a mother herself, had just put Fung’s two-year-old daughter to sleep.
She was then grabbed by the arm, pushed into her room and raped so forcibly that she continued to bleed during her medical examination conducted hours later.
Her blood covered Fung’s T-shirt and underwear, while his DNA was found on her pyjamas and bedsheets.
She immediately sought help from her agency, pleading in a text message: “I’m afraid I’d be pregnant. What to do?”
Fung offered her painkillers the next morning.
But at trial, Fung denied ever having sex with his new helper and offered numerous explanations to account for the DNA evidence, which included claiming he had a wet dream the night before and that the woman was menstruating at the time.
His mother also gave evidence depicting the helper as a disgusting and unhygienic woman who needed to be told when to wash clothes, while his sister suggested the DNA was transferred as a result of sloppy police procedure.
“I’m not surprised they were disbelieved,” the judge said.
A starting point of sentence at eight years was adopted and increased to 10 years after Campbell-Moffat noted aggravating factors that included a significant breach of trust, Fung’s failure to wear a condom, and his willingness to allow his family to perjure themselves in court.
Rape can be punishable by life in prison.