HKSAR v. Chak Kong Fai

HCCC 109/2019

[2019] HKCFI 2979

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 109 OF 2019

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:

The jury has convicted this defendant of a series of 11 sexual offences, ranging from rape, attempted sexual intercourse with a mentally incapacitated person and eight indecent assaults, some of which were extremely serious. The offences were committed over a period of about six months between 17 December 2017 and 9 June 2018, at which time the victim of these offences was just 16. She attended a special school for children with intellectual disability. She was in a class for children with mild-grade intellectual disability. She not only had a comparatively low IQ but she suffered also from a mild form of autism which had left her with difficulty in communicating with others.

The defendant, who had no previous police record, was a social worker at her school where he had been employed for about 24 years. He was well-regarded by the principal of the school and also by Ms Ng who was the social worker who had direct responsibility for Ms X, the complainant. However, in December 2017, the defendant began to target Ms X for sexual exploitation. He had the opportunity to do this because he organized outside-school activities. These were on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and Ms X was quite often a participant in these activities.

Mr Bruce, Senior Counsel, in his speech to the jury described the defendant’s conduct as that of a sexual predator if Ms X’s word was to be believed. Ms X’s word has been believed by the jury and it was believed on overwhelming evidence. Perhaps the most outstanding example of this was the evidence about the rape in Count 8 which occurred on 4 April 2018.

Ms X described to a psychologist who interviewed her, after she had revealed the fact of this series of offences to her sisters and her mother, that she had been taken to a rooftop flat in Kwai Fong where she was raped by the defendant. She told the police that she would be able to lead them to where the flat was if she was taken to the MTR station where the defendant had taken her to. And several months after the rape, she did exactly that. She walked along several streets from the MTR station until she recognised the building.

To put the matter shortly, it turned out that the flat on the roof where she had been raped actually was occupied by the social worker at school responsible for Ms X’s welfare. The defendant had her -- or an electronic key to get into the flat because he had helped Ms Ng move into the flat some time earlier.

At the time of the rape, Ms Ng was on holiday in Australia and was not due to return for another three days. She had not given anyone permission to use her flat and had no idea that anyone had done so until this investigation revealed what had happened. Ms X had no means of knowing that this was the flat occupied by her own social worker.

Now, leaving aside the obvious trauma that any woman would feel after a rape of the type which has been described by her, Ms X in fact was quite badly physically affected as well. She was in very considerable pain the next day, barely able to walk and she lost her voice. Her mother had to examine her because of the redness on her body and all around her private parts was very red. But still her daughter was unable, because she was so scared of the defendant, to inform on him. And two days after the rape, he was indecently assaulting her again. Sexual offences took place at the school rooftop, in the storeroom at the top of the school, in carparks, in a country park, and in fact when he attempted to have sexual intercourse with a person he knew perfectly well was mentally incapacitated, he did so in his own office at the school.

The defendant had told her to say nothing to anyone about what was going on. But Ms X’s behaviour at home had become very nearly intolerable and her mother knew that something was wrong and tried again and again to get her daughter to tell her what was wrong. At one stage, the behaviour was so bad her daughter had to go to a hostel for a number of days. And while she was at the hostel, Ms X’s telephone, mobile telephone that is, was examined and photographs of pages from her diary were found on the telephone. And at last the truth came out. Still, she told her mother very little but she did tell her two sisters, one of whom is a twin, the full story and only then did her mother get to hear the full story herself.

And now at this court, through the CCTV system, Ms X has had to relive all the horrors which the defendant put her through. These would have haunted her ever since and no doubt will continue to haunt her for the rest of her life. I certainly do not require a victim impact statement in a case of this sort. An experience of this kind will mean that her life will never quite be the same again. Her mother’s grief when she came to court to give evidence was plain for all to see and it was very moving.

The defendant for his part made a partial admission to the police but he denied rape. And then he said nothing more to the police as is his perfect right and he exercised his right of silence in court as well. The defendant, in fact, has shown not one single scrap of remorse for what he did to Ms X. He knew perfectly well that she was autistic and of low IQ, which is precisely why she was at the special school where he was supposed to be a carer. And whilst he may have built up a fine reputation for very many years at that school, he threw all that away by his monstrous behaviour which had turned him into the sexual predator that he undoubtedly became. He was able to take advantage of a girl who clearly he was able to exercise control over.

Dr Hung’s psychiatric report explains why children and adults, for that matter, in the condition of the girl this defendant has assaulted so often, often do as they are told to do by people who are seen to be in authority. And so she became easy prey for the fulfilment of the defendant’s sexual desires. The rape is particularly serious but every single one of these offences represents a terrible breach of trust on the defendant’s part.

Mr Chak, would you stand, please? You have ruined the life of one young girl who, to your certain knowledge, had enough problems of her own before what you did to her. The sentence on Count 8, the rape, is 10 years’ imprisonment. There will be a concurrent sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment on Count 4, the attempted rape.

Not being satisfied with raping Ms X on 4 April, at a time when incidentally you used no less than three condoms because you entered her so often, but a month later you tried to have sex with her again (Count 14), which is charged as an attempt to have sex with a mentally incapacitated person, again using a condom and in your own office. The sentence as a starting point at least would be 5 years, and it is 5 years, but having regard to totality, I will make this consecutive to the extent only of 3 years’ imprisonment. This brings the totality to 13 years.

The indecent assault in Count 2 on the school rooftop was particularly serious also. This was the day of the Christmas party at a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui for members of the school which you failed to attend. The school was left deserted and your indecent assault was such that you, in fact, ejaculated at the end of it all over her. For this, there will be a sentence of 3 years’ imprisonment. Again having totality in mind, I will make this consecutive to the sentence of 13 years by 1 year only. It brings the total to 14 years.

On Counts 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, there will be further prison sentences. On Counts 10 and 11, there will be a sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment. On Count 16, there will be a sentence of 9 months’ imprisonment. On Counts 15, 17, 18 and 19, there will be a sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment. In those last four counts, you were, amongst other things, indecently assaulting her by putting your fingers into her vagina repeatedly. You might have enjoyed what you were doing but she certainly did not.

All of those sentences that I have just dealt with will be concurrent to each other and to other sentences except for 1 year of the sentences on 15, 17, 18 and 19, which will run consecutively to the extent of just 1 year. This will leave a total overall sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.

Mr Chak, that is your sentence, 15 years.