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| The sentences were meted 2 days apart at the High Court |
Two local male employers were sent to jail at the
High Court two days apart, after being found guilty of raping their Indonesian domestic
helpers two years ago.
In the latest case, a 60-year-old owner of an air conditioning
repair company was sentenced today, October 13, to eight years in jail for
raping his 23-year-old Indonesian helper who later got pregnant and had to
undergo an abortion.
Defendant Lee Pui-hung was found to have given a
tortoise jelly candy spiked with a sleeping pill to the domestic worker before
raping her on November 21, 2021.
In the second case, 45-year-old insurance regional
director Chow Ka Wai was jailed for seven years on October 11, a month after
being found guilty of raping his domestic helper.
Chow had insisted that he had consensual sex with
the helper at his flat on August 20, 2021, a claim that Lee also used to try
and escape liability.
Lee, however, pleaded guilty to the rape charge while Chow had to undergo trial after pleading not guilty.
In
sentencing Lee, Deputy Judge Eric Kwok acknowledged the seriousness of the
case, and the fact that X, the victim, was far from her home and was
financially dependent on the employer.
Kwok
blasted Lee’s claim that he committed the crime out of impulse and because he
was financially troubled. The judge said he did not see why Lee’s financial
trouble would cause him to rape his helper as that would not have helped with
his situation.
The
judge also angrily hit out at Lee for offering $2,000 to the victim in an
attempt to silence her.
The
court heard that X started working at Lee’s household in Sham Shui Po in July
2021.On November 21 of the same
year, X took her day off and on her return, Lee offered her a bowl of sugar
coated tortoise jelly which he had secretly laced with Zolpiden, a
sleep-inducing drug,
X felt dizzy after
consuming the candies and went inside her room. Later she went to the kitchen
to drink water but felt drowsy so Lee took the chance to accompany her to her
room where he started to grope her and kiss her breasts and genitals. Lee, who
was unprotected, then forced himself on X for about 15 to 30 minutes, despite
her attempts to ward him off.
X tearfully related the
rape to Lee’s wife on the same day. To appease her Lee apologized and secretly
handed her $2,000 and told her not to tell anyone about the incident.
The
next day, X found semen residue on her body and told her elder sister who
immediately reported the incident to their employment agency. Lee was arrested
the same evening but in his statement to the police said he had consensual sex
with the helper, but admitted giving her $2,000.
CCTV
footage taken outside his residence showed Lee disposing a plastic bag which it
turned out, contained the shirt that X was wearing during the rape.
A forensic examination
of X’s blood and urine samples showed the presence of more than two doses of a Zopiclone
pill even if she denied consuming any sleeping pill.
On December 6, X found
out she was pregnant. She decided to undergo an abortion in January the next
year and DNA analysis linked the fetus to Lee.
Lee pleaded guilty to
rape, administering drugs to facilitate unlawful sexual acts, and obstructing
the course of justice.
In mitigation, Lee’s
counsel said the case resulted in Lee divorcing his wife and liquidating his
assets, including his business.
The defence lawyer said
the rape was a momentary lapse of judgment on Lee’s part due to financial
pressures caused by political unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with
the burden of supporting his younger daughter’s university education.
But the judge dismissed
the arguments, saying Lee’s act was premeditated and had nothing to do with financial
stress.
Instead he took into consideration
the trauma assessment report on X, which showed she suffered severed anxiety as
a result of the incident, and Lee’s lack of genuine remorse.
After giving discount
for Lee’s guilty plea the judge imposed a total sentence of eight years in jail
for the three charges against him.
In Chow’s case, there
was only one charge of rape to which he pleaded not guilty. But after trial
last month, a High Court jury of six men found the insurance executive who was
receiving a salary of HK$1 million a year, guilty of the crime.
Last Wednesday, October
11, Judge Martin Hui sentenced him to seven years in jail, saying Chow violated
the helper’s trust and he needed to give a deterrent sentence as the crime was
serious.
Hui
said the case was a tragedy for Chow’s family, as he and his wife have
divorced, leaving their three children, aged 6 to 10, in the care of his 74-year-old
mother.
But this was all Chow’s fault. "A
mistake is all it takes," he said.
In
sentencing, the judge noted Chow’s lack of remorse in insisting he and the
40-year-old helper had consensual sex. Reading off a report, Hui said the
victim suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, feeling scared every day
and finding it hard to control her emotions.
The
court has heard that the incident happened on August 10, 2021, after Chow got
drunk. He touched her breasts and forced
her to give him oral sex. He then touched her private parts and raped her for
10 to 20 seconds without protection.
The
helper tried to fight back but failed.
She complained to Chow's wife the
following day, and said she could not stay in the flat anymore as she felt
frightened. After leaving Chow's home the helper called the police.
In
mitigation, the defense counsel said Chow committed the crime on an impulse and
under the influence of alcohol. The lawyer also insisted no violence was used
on the helper.
In
addition, the defense said the helper has found a new employer and is able to
move on despite a psychological assessment saying she suffers from anxiety and
depression.
The
lawyer asked for a lenient sentence, saying Chow has a record of doing charity
work.
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