High Court hears incest case involving siblings
SCMP · 2 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A 24-year-old defendant is standing trial in Hong Kong’s High Court on four counts of incest and three counts of committing an indecent act towards a child under 16 over alleged sexual acts involving his younger sister at their Sha Tau Kok home. Prosecutors said the alleged incidents took place between September 2013 and July 2016, when the defendant was aged between 11 and 14 and his sister was between seven and 10. The prosecution told jurors that the defendant knew the conduct was “seriously wrong” and relied in part on police statements in which he admitted the acts and later expressed regret. The sister, now 20, reported the matter to police in 2021 and is not expected to testify at trial
Key Points
- Senior Public Prosecutor Karen Ng Ka-yuet told the court the defendant was fully aware the conduct with his sister was inappropriate despite being a teenager
- The accused, identified in one report as L.H.C.N., denied four incest charges and three indecent-act charges before the High Court.
- Prosecutors alleged five incidents happened only weeks apart at the family home in Sha Tau Kok, including acts in a bedroom, living room and bathroom.
- The prosecution said the first act was initiated by the defendant, who later made further requests over about two months.
- In a police statement read to the jury, the defendant said he was very young at the time, admitted doing it, and regretted it
Why It Matters
The case raises difficult legal questions about how Hong Kong courts assess sexual offences allegedly committed within a family when both parties were minors at the time. It also shows the evidential importance of police statements and delayed reporting in intrafamilial abuse cases, especially where the complainant is not expected to testify