Yuen Long district councillor convicted in underage sex case
HK01 · 3 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Yuen Long District Councillor Sze Chun-hing (施駿興) was convicted by the District Court on Monday of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 and was remanded in custody pending sentencing on October 27. A separate indecent assault charge was dismissed, while the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau said it will appoint a monitoring committee to investigate the case after receiving a letter from the Yuen Long District Council chairman and three district councillors under the District Councils Ordinance.
Key Points
- The case concerned allegations that Sze met the girl in extracurricular school activities in 2008, when she was 11, and later had sex with her on March 14, 2011, when she was about 13.
- In case DCCC424/2024, Sze denied one count of indecent assault and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16, but the court convicted him on the intercourse charge.
- Judge Chan Kwong-chi accepted the complainant’s detailed account of the sexual encounter as credible and understandable, saying it matched the feelings of a young girl in first love.
- The indecent assault charge, alleged to have taken place at Ko Shan Road Park in To Kwa Wan in November 2008, was dismissed because the prosecution failed to prove the time and place.
- The government said Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen had received a letter seeking an investigation and will appoint a monitoring committee under the ordinance and councillor performance monitoring system.
Why It Matters
The conviction triggers a formal accountability process beyond the criminal case, with the bureau now moving to set up a monitoring committee under the statutory district council framework. The government has also said it places great importance on district councillors’ character and integrity and will closely monitor the judicial process for appropriate follow-up.