Hong Kong dropout jailed two years for indecent assault of girl, 15

A Hong Kong dropout who repeatedly stalked an underage girl before molesting her to relieve stress was jailed on Thursday for two years on a count of indecent assault.

The District Court heard Kevin Mok, 24, was arrested on January 23 when police caught him trying his luck to find the 15-year-old girl a fourth time, after a successful attempt to follow her into the building and grope her last November.

The victim, who cannot be identified, has since suffered from crying spells, flashbacks and great distress.

Deputy district judge Merinda Chow Yin-chu said prosecutors were “generous” to prosecute only one of the four incidents.

Chow called Mok “a high risk to society” as evidenced by his “dauntless” preying upon the same young victim.

She also described the assault as “a well-planned, calculated and premeditated act”.

“This is a very bad case,” the judge said. “There’s no doubt the defendant committed a very serious offence.”

Mok pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of indecent assault, an offence punishable by 10 years’ imprisonment.

He wrote in mitigation that he was remorseful and felt sorry for the offence.

But the judge found him to be merely paying lip service in an attempt to ask for non-custodial punishment as sentencing reports revealed Mok to lack sympathy towards the victim.

Mok’s psychological report showed he committed the offence to cope with stress.

His psychiatric report concluded he had paedophilic tendencies, since he admitted being attracted to the girl due to her age and that a number of his past girlfriends were under 16.

The experts also found he was at a high risk of reoffending as he worked in a setting in which young children were tutored.

Mok was sentenced to two years, after the judge reduced his jail time by one third to credit his guilty plea, which Chow said was the only mitigating factor.

“The court will not tolerate this kind of conduct,” she continued. “Should he reoffend he can only expect a heavier sentence.”

The court previously heard that Mok first followed the girl home on November 24 last year, during which he wore a face mask, checked the surroundings and scouted for an escape route.

Six days later, he followed the girl into the building and molested her with one hand while he covered her mouth with the other, prompting her to call police.

He tailed her again on January 10, but failed to enter the building as the girl immediately shut the metal gates after hearing footsteps.

He was eventually arrested on January 23 after police intercepted him in the area.

Mok dropped out of his final year of study at Centennial College in February, the same month he began receiving counselling services.