Hong Kong court acquits police officer of indecent assault charge after accuser’s testimony rejected

Skip to content A Hong Kong court has found a police officer not guilty of indecent assault after rejecting the testimony of his accuser. Hong Kong Police Force. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Officer Ng Ka‑wai pleaded not guilty when he appeared at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on Friday. According to the case details, the 41-year-old allegedly touched the thigh of a female informant and opened a nude photo of her without her consent inside Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station on December 20 last year. The informant was in the station to report being blackmailed with nude photos and defrauded of HK$1.6 million. Police then arranged for Ng to assist the informant in giving a statement. According to the prosecution, the informant told Ng that a fraudster had sent her nude photos of herself using the “View Once” feature on WhatsApp to blackmail her. She then handed her phone to Ng, who she alleged opened one of the photos without her permission. She also alleged that Ng asked her to stand with him to check online bank statements, and then touched her thigh three times. Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. However, Magistrate Arthur Lam said on Friday that what the woman told the court was not consistent with her written statements. For example, the woman told the court that she only realised a suspected “View Once” nude photo had been opened after getting her phone back from the defendant. But during cross-examination, the defence cited her written statement, in which she said that the defendant showed her the nude photos on her mobile and commented on them while viewing them. 💡If you are suffering from sexual or domestic violence, regardless of your age or gender, contact the police, Harmony House (click for details) and/or the Social Welfare Department on 28948896. Dial 999 in emergencies. Lam called the informant’s explanations unconvincing, and the court therefore did not accept her testimony. He ruled that Ng was not guilty of the charge and awarded him legal costs. A conviction for indecent assault in Hong Kong carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment. Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Make a one-off donation. Irene Chan is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press and has an interest in covering political and social change. She previously worked at Initium Media as chief editor for Hong Kong news and was a community organiser at the Society for Community Organisation serving the underprivileged. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Fudan University and a master’s degree in social work from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Irene is the recipient of two Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) awards and three honourable mentions for her investigative, feature and video reporting. She also received a Human Rights Press Award for multimedia reporting and an honourable mention for feature writing. More by Irene Chan