Hong Kong man unanimously acquitted of raping female friend at Sai Kung campsite

A 24-year-old man has been acquitted of raping a female friend at a Sai Kung campsite three years ago, with the jury unanimously finding him not guilty.

Fung Cheuk-kei appeared at the High Court on Monday morning following an eight-day trial for two counts of rape before a seven-member jury – including four women and three men.

He was accused of raping a woman, known to the court as X, when they went to Sai Kung on November 10, 2023.

According to the prosecution, the pair were camping at Wan Tsai South Campsite that day, when Fung entered the tent twice while she was asleep and raped her despite her protests.

X testified on the first day of the trial last month that the camping trip started off normally, with the two of them cooking and then drinking soju at night, according to local media.

She said that after they went to bed, Fung entered the tent twice and assaulted her despite her protests. He wore a condom only the first time.

The two slept in the same tent that night. X testified that when she woke up, she found she was bleeding, and that when she showed Fung the bloodied tissues and said she was in pain, he apologised.

After she went home, she messaged Fung on Instagram and said his behaviour was akin to rape. She told her brother what had happened, and the two met Fung at a shopping mall, where he admitted to raping her, X testified.

She added that the pair met as colleagues in 2019 and reconnected in 2023. He expressed romantic interest in her and tried to kiss her on one occasion when they went cycling in Cheung Chau, but X rejected him and said she only wanted to be friends.

Judge William Tam said on Monday that X’s testimony was dishonest. He said she admitted that when she, her brother, and Fung met at the shopping mall, her brother had hit Fung.

Tam said Fung’s apology was perhaps only because he had caused her pain. In contrast, Fung’s conduct did not warrant suspicion, he added.

Under Hong Kong law, rape is punishable by up to life imprisonment.

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Hillary Leung is a journalist at Hong Kong Free Press, where she reports on local politics and social issues, and assists with editing. Since joining in late 2021, she has covered the Covid-19 pandemic, political court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial, and challenges faced by minority communities.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hillary completed her undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology at the University of Hong Kong. She worked at TIME Magazine in 2019, where she wrote about Asia and overnight US news before turning her focus to the protests that began that summer. At Coconuts Hong Kong, she covered general news and wrote features, including about a Black Lives Matter march that drew controversy amid the local pro-democracy movement and two sisters who were born to a domestic worker and lived undocumented for 30 years in Hong Kong.