District councillor awaits sentence in underage sex case
HK01 · 4 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago5 MIN
Summary
Yuen Long District Councillor Sze Chun-hing (施駿興), 39, has been convicted in the District Court of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 over an incident on March 14, 2011, at a Tin Shui Wai flat. He was acquitted on a separate indecent assault charge involving the same complainant, relating to an alleged incident in November 2008 at Ko Shan Road Park in To Kwa Wan. During mitigation on October 27, the defence argued that Sze and the complainant were genuinely in love at the time, and said their relationship became “even sweeter” after the sexual encounter. Judge Douglas Chan Kwong-chi (陳廣池) adjourned sentencing to November 3 and ordered that Sze remain in custody.
Key Points
- The conviction concerns one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16, alleging Sze had sex with 13-year-old X on March 14, 2011, in Tin Shui Wai.
- A separate indecent assault charge alleged Sze molested X in November 2008 at Ko Shan Road Park, To Kwa Wan, when she was 11, but he was acquitted.
- The defence said Sze had served the community for years, was elected a district councillor in 2024, and had handled more than 4,000 community cases with his team
- In mitigation, counsel said Sze did not use a condom but did not ejaculate inside the complainant; the judge replied that this did not remove pregnancy risk.
- The prosecution said it would appeal by way of case stated against the acquittal on the indecent assault charge and had sought the trial transcript
Why It Matters
The case places a serving district councillor under criminal sentence for an offence involving a minor, raising immediate questions about public office, community representation and political viability in Yuen Long. It also underlines that in Hong Kong, consent or a claimed romantic relationship is not a defence to unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16.