Aftab Amir, a Pakistani father of nine, earlier pleaded not guilty to raping the Mongolian girl who was nine years old at that time, identified in court as X. He was acquitted of rape by a seven-member jury in a High Court, but convicted of attempting to rape X.

High Court deputy judge Andrew Bruce said during sentencing that the case is very serious, as the age difference between Amir and X is huge, which will deeply affect X in her future life.

The jury’s verdict already showed that they doubted whether Amir actually penetrated X with his sex organ, but he did put his finger into X’s private part and wounded her, according to Bruce.

In mitigation, the defense said X’s twin brother was also in the hotel room, and their mother also constantly enters and leaves the room, but he still committed the crime, until being discovered by X’s twin brother.

Amir’s lawyers therefore said his client could have finished the rape if he intends to do so, and treat the scream from X’s twin brother as background noises, but instead, Amir treated it as “a slap in the face” and immediately halted his actions, and found it embarrassing.

The defense also emphasized that Amir did not plan the crime, and even if he broke the trust between him and X’s mother as a friend, it is still not that severe in nature.

Although Bruce accepted that Amir is an “opportunist” and did not plan to commit the crime, he still thinks Amir’s behavior was serious as he believes Amir will continue raping X if he was not discovered in the middle of his action.

Bruce also considered that X is only nine years old, mentally retarded with only the mental ability of a three-year-old and was also frightened during the incident, while Amir’s action has no difference from raping, he said the sentence must be deterrent.

As Amir also showed no remorse towards his behavior, Bruce handed down a 10-year jail term for him.

The court was earlier told that X’s mother brought X and her twin brother to Amir’s hotel room to spend the night after she broke up with her boyfriend and has no place to live.

X’s mother later went out to do the laundry, leaving behind X and her twin brother with Amir in the hotel room. Inside the hotel room, X’s twin brother later heard a loud scream by X and saw Amir riding on X and touching her between her legs.

When their mother came back to the room, X’s twin brother told his mother about the incident and she saw the sex organs of Amir and X when she lifted up the blanket and therefore took a photo and brought her kids away, and called the police afterwards.

Amir arrived in Hong Kong alone in 1981 while his wife and nine children -- aged between 9 to 33 -- are in Pakistan. He originally partnered with others to run a restaurant in Chungking Mansions, but already sold all his shares before the incident and remained at the restaurant as a part-time chef.