Firefighter convicted of raping girlfriend
The defendant, Chan Kwan-Chun (34 years old, a firefighter at the time of the incident, currently suspended from duty), was charged with raping a woman, X, in a room at the "Ting Lan Court" serviced apartment complex on Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan, between July 9 and 10, 2021. After an 11-day trial, the jury of four men and three women deliberated for approximately 10 hours before sentencing... 6:1 The defendant was ruled by a large margin. Rape conviction.
Table of contents
The defendant remained calm after hearing the verdict, while relatives and friends wept outside the courtroom. (Special Judge) Guo Dongming The case was adjourned to March 30, 2026 During the pleas for leniency and sentencing, the female victim X was asked for money. Trauma Report(Assessing psychological and traumatic impact), the defendant was immediately remanded in custody (bail was revoked).
Key Case Highlights (Based on Statements and Testimony from Both the Prosecution and Defense)
- How the two metIn mid-April 2021, X met the defendant through a friend's introduction (via Instagram). The following day, they had dinner together at Harbour City and exchanged contact information. They then kept in touch via WhatsApp. From May to June, X dated another man and reduced contact, but they still occasionally played mobile games together. On July 1st (the defendant's birthday), X sent a birthday message, and the defendant invited her out, which she declined. X later suggested having dinner and watching a movie on July 9th, and the defendant suggested adding alcohol to the meal.
- Arrangements on the day of the incidentThe defendant claimed that bringing liquor would require refrigeration and that drinking it at a restaurant would incur a corkage fee, so he suggested going to Tinglanju where he would cook for her himself. X agreed and arrived at the room around 10 PM. The two dined, drank liquor, and played cards. After drinking, X felt dizzy, confused, and lost consciousness, and the defendant carried her to bed.
- The victim's condition upon waking upAround 4 a.m., X woke up feeling dizzy and weak, and found the defendant lying next to her. The defendant told her, "You did something with me." X pressed for details about where he ejaculated, and the defendant initially didn't answer, but later said, "I ejaculated outside." Fragmented images flashed through X's mind: during intercourse, she said "No," and the defendant said "It feels so good," and finally, he ejaculated in her lower right abdomen (leaving a sticky residue). The prosecution stated that the defendant initially claimed to have ejaculated inside her body, but X recalled it was external. After showering, the defendant took X home. X woke up in the afternoon, suspecting she had been drugged and raped, and reported it to the police.
- Other evidenceThe prosecution presented CCTV footage showing the defendant helping X leave Ting Lan Residence, but X claimed to have no recollection of it. X informed her sister of her fainting condition via WhatsApp in the early morning.
The main defense
The defense argued that the sexual intercourse was consensual.
- He was told that X was single and felt that "there was still a chance." He expressed his interest in X, and X agreed.
- After dinner, X wanted to smoke, and the defendant gave him a hand-rolled cigarette (the defense claimed it contained cannabis oil, and X knew it was cannabis from the smell, but denied that the defendant had told him). X choked, and the defendant blew smoke "mouth to mouth," which X denied.
- They became increasingly intimate while playing games, hugging and kissing, and then engaging in sexual intercourse. The defendant did not use a condom and ejaculated outside the vagina as instructed by X. Afterwards, they fell asleep, and X woke the defendant up in the early morning, asking her to take her away.
- The defense argued that X called the police because there were suspected sex videos of her circulating online, and she was worried about being secretly filmed, so she exaggerated her drunken reaction. X denied this, saying that she only learned about the videos when she called the police, and the female police officer confirmed after reviewing the footage that the person in the videos was not her.
Current status
After being convicted, the defendant was immediately remanded in custody to await mitigation and sentencing. In Hong Kong, rape carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, with the actual sentence depending on the circumstances of the case (including whether the victim was intoxicated and incapacitated, whether the defendant took advantage of the situation, the extent of the trauma, and the defendant's background). Before sentencing, the defendant may still seek mitigating factors (such as being a first-time offender or having no prior criminal record), but a large majority jury verdict reflects evidence favoring the prosecution.
case HCCC93/2023
Further reading:
- It's a great relief that Bai Yingcang, a convicted fraudster, murderer, and rapist in northern Myanmar, has been executed.
- Butcher Lin Guoyun on a Rainy Night: A Complete Analysis of Dark Details
- An unemployed man was accused of raping a married woman in a stairwell; the woman's private parts smelled foul. The jury unanimously acquitted him, and the judge ordered the public funds to cover the legal costs.
