By Chris Lau. Four men on Tuesday admitted to having sex with a year-old girl they molested in a Hong Kong public toilet, with one later taunting her with death threats. The assault took place at the Sun Chui shopping centre in Sha Tin in the small hours of January 27, , when the victim was only All the accused pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Cheng pleaded guilty to an additional count of indecent assault and indecent conduct towards a child. Lam pleaded guilty to two additional counts of indecent conduct towards a child, while Chan admitted to one further count of the same charge. Mok also pleaded guilty to criminally intimidating X. The court heard the girl, then a Form One student, met the others through Mok. Shortly before the incident, she and the four accused went to have a drink and chat at the podium of the shopping centre.
When she was in the female toilet, Cheng entered and started molesting her. Cheng then pulled her out of the female toilet and dragged her into the male facilities. Mok delivered the threat in the evening of January 27, , when X was invited to a bar in Tai Wai to talk about the incident. A social worker later persuaded X to report her ordeal to police. All of the group, apart from Cheng, were arrested several months later on July Cheng left Hong Kong for mainland China on June 28, , and was arrested on March 8 the following year when he returned to the city.
In mitigation, their lawyers said they were remorseful and had acted out of impulse. But the court heard Cheng, a chef, had six convictions on his criminal record, including claiming to be a triad member.
(mh\u003dJ7X03tj2QIIEOZLx)15.jpg "Adult Guide in Hong Kong")
The judge ordered detention centre reports for Mok and Chan because of their age, 19, when they committed the offence. For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app.
