Maximum jail term for jobless man who molested girl, 14, on Hong Kong hillside
Attack little different to rape , says judge as he hands down maximum sentence to an 'extremely violent and dangerous' man
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 09 April, 2014, 5:12am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 09 April, 2014, 12:21pm
Julie Chu [email protected]
A jobless man who molested and beat a 14-year-old girl after robbing her of all her possessions was jailed for 15 years yesterday, including 10 years - the maximum penalty - for indecent assault.
Sentencing Cheung Wai-ming, 35, a High Court judge said he could not think of a more serious case of indecent assault, adding his actions were no different from rape except he violated her using his hands.
The Court of First Instance was told that Cheung grabbed the girl from a Tai Po street on January 3 last year, took her to the hillside, stripped her and banged her head on a concrete block and some railings when she tried to resist.
He then kicked her into a ditch before leaving.
A jury convicted Cheung on three charges of robbery, indecent assault and assault.
"I cannot think of any indecent assault case more serious than this one and I find it is a case for which the maximum penalty of 10 years should be imposed," Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai said.
He described Cheung as an "extremely violent and dangerous man" who humiliated the girl severely and became violent when she showed a little resistance.
"In this kind of sex crime, the psychological impact to the victim is more serious than the physical one," the judge said, adding that a deterrent sentence was needed to reflect public revulsion.
Chan said the victim was a brave girl and he hoped she could start a new life soon with the support of her family.
The court heard the girl was walking along Chiu Yi Street on the way to her grandmother's home after school when Cheung grabbed her by the neck and took her to the hillside.
He took away her iPhone and her purse, claiming he needed money to raise his son.
He then stripped her when she refused to take off her school uniform.
When the girl wept, Cheung said, "I hate women crying," and banged her head on a concrete block, some railings and the ground.
After violating her, he kicked her into the ditch when she begged for forgiveness.
The girl, with bruises and abrasions all over her body, told her family what had happened.
The police got a picture of Cheung from a car-cleaning company's security camera and it was published in a newspaper.
Two readers recalled seeing Cheung arguing with people in the street on the day of the assault and this led police to him.
Cheung had 13 criminal convictions including robbery, theft and one of attempted rape of a 13-year-old girl with two other men in 1996.
