Hong Kong News
Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Wednesday, Feb 05, 2025
Real, Diverse, Unbiased.
Probation order upheld for former actor who had sex with 14-year-old girl
A sentence review for a 25-year-old former actor – handed a probation order after having threesome with a 14-year-old girl – was rejected by the Kowloon City Court on Thursday, with the magistrate saying the original sentence carried a deterrent effect already.
The former actor was Hugo Chan Fai-fung, who had appeared in ViuTV's “King Maker III” and several advertisements, and the sentence review was filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ).
Chan had earlier pleaded guilty to eight counts of unlawful intercourse with the 14-year-old girl “X” between December 2020 and August last year, and was handed down a year-long probation order this September.
Delivering the verdict to uphold the original sentence, magistrate Stephanie Tsui May-har said Chan was not cheating the young girl as they were a couple at the time.
She also said X lied about her actual age before having sex and her photos on social media appeared to be more mature than she really was.
Tsui noted there was no evidence to prove that X was mentally troubled after the incident and added the probation order could better benefit the rehabilitation of Chan, who really believed X was 16 already and didn't mislead X to have sex with him.
Earlier, prosecutors noted in the writ that Chan didn't use protection on several occasions and had had threesome with X, who was later diagnosed with vaginal candidiasis and folliculitis. They called on the court to pass down imprisonment punishment as they believed the sentencing should focus on the deterrent effect and added the charge aims to protect underage girls.
Meanwhile, the defense said Chan was not to be blamed in terms of moral as he truly believed X was already 16 at the time, as told by X herself before the sex.
Not only did Chan ask X about her age, he also watched X's photos on her social medial page, according to the defense, concluding that Chan had taken other actions to verify X's actual age.
The defense also said the court didn't make any mistake when handing down a probation order previously. The lawyers continued that Chan finished three months of his probation order already and changing the sentence now would do Chan unjust.
The court earlier heard that Chan and X met each other via a dating app in June 2020. They then had sex seven times at Chan's home in Tsim Sha Tsui between December 2020 and July 2021. The pair also had threesome with another woman in a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel one August day last year.
Chan is now working as a waiter.
Chan had earlier pleaded guilty to eight counts of unlawful intercourse with the 14-year-old girl “X” between December 2020 and August last year, and was handed down a year-long probation order this September.
Delivering the verdict to uphold the original sentence, magistrate Stephanie Tsui May-har said Chan was not cheating the young girl as they were a couple at the time.
She also said X lied about her actual age before having sex and her photos on social media appeared to be more mature than she really was.
Tsui noted there was no evidence to prove that X was mentally troubled after the incident and added the probation order could better benefit the rehabilitation of Chan, who really believed X was 16 already and didn't mislead X to have sex with him.
Earlier, prosecutors noted in the writ that Chan didn't use protection on several occasions and had had threesome with X, who was later diagnosed with vaginal candidiasis and folliculitis. They called on the court to pass down imprisonment punishment as they believed the sentencing should focus on the deterrent effect and added the charge aims to protect underage girls.
Meanwhile, the defense said Chan was not to be blamed in terms of moral as he truly believed X was already 16 at the time, as told by X herself before the sex.
Not only did Chan ask X about her age, he also watched X's photos on her social medial page, according to the defense, concluding that Chan had taken other actions to verify X's actual age.
The defense also said the court didn't make any mistake when handing down a probation order previously. The lawyers continued that Chan finished three months of his probation order already and changing the sentence now would do Chan unjust.
The court earlier heard that Chan and X met each other via a dating app in June 2020. They then had sex seven times at Chan's home in Tsim Sha Tsui between December 2020 and July 2021. The pair also had threesome with another woman in a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel one August day last year.
Chan is now working as a waiter.
