Incest trial hears defendant’s recorded interview
On.cc · 4 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
The High Court on September 4 heard a video-recorded police interview in the trial of a 24-year-old man charged with four counts of incest and three counts of committing gross indecency with or towards a child under 16 over alleged acts involving his younger sister at a Sha Tau Kok home between September 2013 and July 2016. Prosecutors say the defendant was aged 11 to 14 at the time, while the girl, identified as X, was aged seven to 10, and that the alleged conduct included four acts of intercourse as well as masturbation and oral sex in the family flat. In court, the prosecution relied on the defendant’s statements to police, including an admission under caution that he had done it and regretted it, while the complainant will not testify. The newly aired interview also showed the defendant claiming he did not force X, that she agreed, and that she had told him their elder brother had acted similarly toward her
Key Points
- The defendant, identified as L.H.C.N., denies seven charges: four counts of incest and three counts of gross indecency with or towards a child under 16.
- The charges allege that between September 2, 2013 and July 17, 2016, he had intercourse with X four times in a Hong Kong flat, knowing she was his sister.
- Prosecutors said the siblings were living with parents, grandparents, a great-grandparent and a domestic helper in Sha Tau Kok when the alleged acts occurred.
- A police officer said X reported the case on December 9, 2021, and the defendant was arrested at his Sha Tau Kok home the following evening.
- In the recorded interview played on September 4, the defendant said he had sexual contact with X but insisted she did not resist and he did not compel her
Why It Matters
The case shows how Hong Kong courts may hear historical child sexual abuse allegations years after the alleged events, with police interviews and admissions becoming central evidence where the complainant does not testify. It also raises legal scrutiny over how the court assesses age, understanding, consent claims and prior sexual knowledge when both the accused and complainant were children at the time of the alleged offences.