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| Apthorp (with blue mask) being led away from court by his solicitors (File) |
A Filipina domestic helper has scored an
initial victory in the civil case she filed against an 85-year-old retired
British doctor, who she claims had molested her, when a District Court judge allowed
the showing of two pornographic videos as part of her evidence.
Lawyers for the defendant, Brian Drew Apthorp,
had tried to block the use of the video clips which the plaintiff, identified
only as C.B., claimed was shown to her by the octogenarian prior to molesting
her.
The defense argued that the clips, which purportedly
showed Apthorp in a sexual act with another woman, had no direct bearing on the
case, but the prosecution said they can prove the defendant’s character and
background.
After hearing both sides,
Deputy District Judge David Chan allowed the clips to be presented in court,
but said he has yet to decide on their weight as evidence..
Earlier, CB also won the right not to have her full name disclosed in public.
CB which is represented by
solicitors Patricia Ho and Associates on legal aid, is claiming more than $1
million in compensation for personal injury and pain and suffering.
Among other allegations, she said the retired doctor had molested her on the pretext of conducting a physical examination, repeatedly ordered her to massage him while fully naked, and watch pornographic videos with her.
C.B. was then called to the
witness stand, during which she confirmed that she had attained college
education in the Philippines, and a caregiving certificate. She first worked in
Kuwait and Singapore, before moving to Hong Kong in 2014.
She said her first employers
were a couple who were both police officers. She admitted describing them as “bad
people” as they gave her little food and often shouted at her. She said she
tried to put up with them as it cost her money to get to Hong Kong, but they
terminated her contract after three months and she had to return to the
Philippines.
She first read about Apthorp’s
need for a domestic worker from the online page, Geoexpat, after her second contract
was terminated by her employer for financial reasons. After an initial
interview, she said Apthorp’s helper at the time, Janice Villanueva, called her
up and asked her to report for work in September 2018 at the employer’s 3,000
square foot house in Shouson Hill.
At the time, CB said she did
not pay much attention to a document detailing her responsibilities as a
helper, and stating that a pre-employment medical examination was required. She was
asked if she knew that the defendant was a doctor and could thus do the
examination himself, but she said she did not know. Besides, she knew that it
was standard practice for most employers to require a medical check, but this
was something done in a clinic or hospital.
In an attempt to show that she
had been feigning ignorance about the job requirements that Apthorp had
supposedly made clear to her from the beginning, the defense lawyer pointed out
CB could not have possibly just skimmed through the document that mentioned
additional benefits, including a “generous bonus” if she completed the
contract.
The lawyer also asked why CB said
she could no longer remember how long her initial job interview took when she
said during Apthorp’s retrial only in November last year that it lasted an hour
and a half.
When CB said she did not
expect Apthorp to ask her to bathe him naked, the lawyer asked if she was not
taught this in the caregiving course that she took, and she said they were told
the person they were looking after should be in shorts.
The lawyer said then that the
only reason CB was insisting that she did not pay much attention to the
document she was made to sign was because she did not want the court to know
that she had known all along what working for Apthorp entailed.
CB said this was not true as
she had nothing to hide, and she knew it would not do her good to lie.
Earlier, she also denied
undergoing a psychological examination with the Dignity Institute because she
was preparing to file a civil claim against Apthorp. CB said it was because she
thought she needed help because she was “not in a good mental state.”
Apthorp was convicted of three counts of indecent assault on CB in July 2021, for which he was
sentenced to 30 months in jail. But a retrial ordered by the High Court led to
his being acquitted of all charges in November last year.
The hearing of the civil case
is expected to last for five days.
