Jury clears camper of two rape charges
HK01 · 4 SOURCESabout 8 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
A 24-year-old defendant, Fung Cheuk-hei (馮卓禧), was unanimously acquitted by a High Court jury on Monday of two rape charges linked to a camping trip at Wan Tsai South Campsite on the Wan Tsai Nature Trail in Sai Kung. The charges alleged he raped complainant X twice on 10 November 2023. After the verdict, the defence applied for costs and Mr Justice Tam Yiu-ho granted the application, saying the complainant’s testimony was not entirely truthful and that the defendant’s apology might have been for causing pain rather than an admission of rape.
Key Points
- The case was tried in the High Court, where a seven-member jury of four women and three men retired to deliberate on 9 November before unanimously returning not guilty verdicts on both counts.
- Prosecutors said Fung and X had been co-workers in 2019, lost touch after exchanging Instagram accounts, then reconnected in 2023 after meeting again at a public housing estate.
- X testified that she had previously told Fung she did not like him romantically and regarded him only as a friend, after he had tried to kiss her during an earlier outing.
- According to the prosecution case, the pair went camping in Sai Kung on 9 November 2023, and X alleged Fung entered her tent at about 1am and raped her twice, first with a condom and later without one.
- X said she later found significant bleeding, showed a blood-stained wet wipe to Fung, and received an apology; she then told her younger brother, met Fung for a confrontation, and eventually reported the matter to police.
Why It Matters
The ruling underlines how heavily jury trials in serious sexual offence cases can turn on witness credibility and the court’s assessment of what post-incident messages or apologies actually mean. For Hong Kong readers, the costs order is also notable because the judge expressly linked it to concerns over the complainant’s evidence and to the absence of any clear self-incriminating admission by the defendant.