A 65-year-old man charged for molesting a 12-year-old girl in Tseung Kwan O was acquitted at Kwun Tong Law Courts yesterday after doubts arose over what transpired while he was giving a statement to the police, reports Apple Daily.
The retiree, surnamed Lau, was charged with and freed of indecent assault after he was accused of groping a girl’s thigh, breast and arm at the residents’ club inside the estate where they both live.
In court, the defense claimed that the police “coerced” Lau into admitting the crime, and that they did not recite his statement to him, even though he suffers from cataracts. Furthermore, the statement did not contain Lau’s signature, which raised doubts over its legitimacy.
The defense also said that the police did not take into account the fact that Lau, who apparently knew the girl, said hello to her and may have accidentally touched her.
A police officer who took Lau’s statement admitted to his mistake in not having Lau sign the statement, though he denied the other allegations.
