Off-duty officer denies upskirting charge, case to answer
HK01 · 3 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
An off-duty police officer on trial over an alleged upskirting incident at MTR Lai King Station was ruled to have a case to answer by Magistrate Wong Kwok-fai after the prosecution evidence was heard. The 39-year-old defendant, Ho Ka-chun (何家俊), denied one count of unlawfully photographing or observing an intimate part, chose not to give evidence, and the case was adjourned to September 29 for closing submissions while he remained on bail.
Key Points
- The charge alleges Ho operated a mobile phone on August 1, 2025 in Hong Kong to observe or photograph woman X’s intimate parts from beneath her clothing, for a sexual purpose or dishonestly, without regard to consent.
- Woman X said that at about 11pm, while standing on the right side of an escalator at Lai King Station in a pink knee-length dress, she felt a hard, cold object with corners touch the back of her leg near the knee or thigh.
- She turned and saw a stranger, later identified as the defendant, bending down two steps below her and holding a phone in one hand near the hem of her dress; she said she was too shocked to see the screen.
- X said she asked if he was secretly filming her, after which he pulled back the phone and tried to flee; she shouted for help, and a male passer-by assisted in stopping him.
- The passer-by said the defendant denied filming, while investigating police evidence said the defendant agreed to open his phone but no upskirt images were found in the photo album or deleted-items folder.
Why It Matters
The immediate issue for readers is that the absence of images on a phone did not end the prosecution case at this stage, with the court finding there was still sufficient evidence to require an answer. The next hearing on September 29 will determine how the court assesses the complainant’s account, the defendant’s conduct after being challenged, and the lack of recovered images.