Court awards HK$367,000 in deceptive sex civil claim
HK01 · 3 SOURCESabout 5 hours ago6 MIN
Summary
A Hong Kong District Court hearing officer on Friday awarded HK$367,000 in damages, plus interest and about HK$20,000 in costs, to a woman identified as TA after finding she suffered psychological injury following a sexual encounter with an unemployed man, Tsang Tsz-ho (曾子豪), whom she had believed to be female. The civil ruling followed an earlier criminal trial in which Tsang was acquitted in 2021 of rape and indecent assault over the same incident. In the civil case, the court had already entered judgment on liability in September 2024 after Tsang failed to file a defence, leaving only the assessment of damages. The hearing officer accepted TA's evidence as credible and found the incident caused trauma that affected her studies, internship and later legal work.
Key Points
- TA said she met the defendant in November 2019 on Butterfly, a lesbian dating app, where he used the name “Jan” and selected “TB”, leading her to believe he was female.
- The pair arranged to meet at a Kwun Tong hotel on February 27, 2020 for BDSM activity; TA said she realised during intercourse that the defendant was male and pushed him away.
- TA sought treatment the next day at United Christian Hospital, received emergency contraception and a hepatitis B vaccine, and was later diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis and candidiasis.
- The court heard TA began seeing a psychologist in May 2022 and was later assessed as suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, with nightmares, avoidance of unfamiliar men and hypervigilance in public.
- Damages comprised HK$250,000 for pain, suffering and loss of amenities, HK$80,000 in aggravated damages, and about HK$37,000 for special damages and future treatment costs.
Why It Matters
The ruling shows that an acquittal in a criminal trial does not prevent a Hong Kong court from imposing civil liability on a lower standard of proof when a plaintiff pursues damages separately. It also underlines how courts may recognise psychiatric harm, humiliation and longer-term effects on study and professional life in cases involving deception and sexual consent disputes.