Senior customs officer cleared of indecent assault charge
SingTao · 2 SOURCESabout 4 hours ago4 MIN
Summary
A senior Hong Kong Customs officer has been acquitted of indecent assault after a trial over an alleged incident involving a female colleague at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge customs building. Magistrate Wong Sze-cheung accepted the defendant’s account that he lightly patted the woman’s back as a gesture of comfort, rather than touching her waist or buttocks indecently.
Key Points
- The 48-year-old defendant, Tong Kin-chung (湯建聰), denied one count of indecent assault over an incident alleged to have happened on December 3, 2025.
- The charge said the offence took place in a room inside the Hong Kong Customs inspection building at the Hong Kong port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in Chek Lap Kok.
- The prosecution alleged he touched colleague X on the waist and buttocks, while the defence said he only lightly patted the middle of her right back once to comfort her.
- In his ruling at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on September 10, 2026, Magistrate Wong questioned why an assault would occur in a busy staff rest area where other people were present.
- The magistrate also noted no witness at the scene reported hearing the conversation described by X or noticing anything unusual, and found the defendant’s explanation reasonable.
Why It Matters
The ruling turned on how the court assessed credibility, context and the exact location of the contact, rather than on any dispute that the two colleagues had interacted that night. For Hong Kong readers, the case shows how workplace contact allegations can hinge on whether conduct is viewed as ordinary social behaviour or criminal touching when tested against surrounding evidence in court.