A Hong Kong court has sentenced a university student to 10 days in prison for indecently assaulting two women on the MTR.
Wong Chun-ho, a student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), appeared before Magistrate Amy Chan at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday after previously pleading guilty to two counts of indecent assault. according to for local media.
Chan said the 20-year-old student touched one woman’s rear and another woman’s skirt on an MTR carriage within the span of 10 minutes, noting that his actions would have gone unpunished had they not been exposed.
According to details of the case read out in court, one of the victims, X, was standing in a Tuen Ma Line train carriage on March 22 at around 10pm when she felt someone touching her buttocks for about five seconds.
She turned and saw the defendant, Wong.
Another victim, Y, was leaning on a railing when she noticed the defendant standing close behind her and felt someone touch the hem of her skirt. X saw this and recorded the incident on video.
The two women reported the case to the police and posted the images on the Internet, after which the defendant surrendered to the police.
Wong said under police custody that he grabbed Y’s bottom because he was “curious” and claimed he touched X because he lost his balance, but did not immediately remove his hand as he “couldn’t control himself”.
‘Bright Future’
In mitigation, the defense cited probation and community service reports, saying the defendant had witnessed his father’s domestic violence against his mother during his childhood. He “had a lot of trauma” and struggled to express his emotions, his lawyer added.
The defense also said Wong turned himself in to police, pleaded guilty and was willing to seek professional help.
Wong, a student at CUHK, had a “bright future” and was “only 20 years old”, the lawyer told the court.
The defense noted that the probation and community service reports recommended an 18-month probation order rather than a prison sentence.
However, the judge rejected the recommendation, saying the court wanted to send a message that “there is zero tolerance for indecent assaults on public transport”.
Chan approved an initial sentence of three weeks in jail, but reduced his sentence to 10 days after considering a guilty plea and surrender.
