Belgian businessman found guilty of raping a woman and indecently assaulting another

[EndoftheWorld]

Belgian businessman found guilty of raping a woman and indecently assaulting another in Hong Kong hotel room

Women were attacked in Causeway Bay hotel rooms during businessman's visits in 2013

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 28 May, 2015, 5:55am
UPDATED : Thursday, 28 May, 2015, 5:55am

Thomas Chan [email protected]

Laurent Frank outside the High Court. Photo: David Wong

A former director of a mainland renewable energy multinational has been found guilty of raping a woman and indecently assaulting another during visits to Hong Kong two years ago.

Laurent Frank, previously a senior business development director with Hanergy Holding Group, received the jury's unanimous verdict after more than a day of deliberation. The seven-member jury also acquitted him unanimously of another count of rape.

Frank, represented by a team of three barristers led by Daniel Marash SC, shook his head as the jury's foreman read out the guilty verdict. He had pleaded not guilty to three charges and claimed sexual activities with the women had been consensual.

Deputy High Court Judge Mr Justice Michael McMahon adjourned the case to today for sentencing and mitigation. Frank was remanded in custody.

Previously the court heard that the 32-year-old Belgian businessman allegedly assaulted three victims, identified as W, X and Y, in his Causeway Bay hotel room between May and October 2013, after he met them through social media websites.

The victim in the sexual assault case, 29, was kissed and molested by Frank in his room on August 8, but she managed to push him away and flee.

The court also heard that on October 24 the same year, a third victim, a 21-year-old university student, was raped by Frank in his hotel room. She told the court she had not been looking for a relationship and was a virgin.

W, the alleged victim in the charge Frank was acquitted of, had earlier told the court she was raped after returning to Frank's hotel room following a dinner together on May 1.

According to Frank's profile on business networking site LinkedIn, he has held teaching positions at the University of Adelaide's Shanghai branch and the Sino-British College of Shanghai.

He also worked for several solar energy companies in Hong Kong and on the mainland.

Hanergy Holding Group, which has hit the headlines in recent weeks after wild fluctuations in the share price of its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, refused to comment on the case other than to say Frank was no longer an employee of the firm.