The defendant’s crimes were horrendous and the judge’s remarks cutting.
Yesterday, after being found guilty of repeatedly raping his daughter starting from when she was 10, a 77-year-old man launched into an aggressive tirade, denying the crime and calling the presiding judge, Justice Andrew Chan, “unprofessional.”
Shouting from the dock, the defendant, identified only as YHL, yelled in Mandarin: “I never assaulted [my wife] nor did I rape [my daughter]. The judge is unprofessional, I am going to appeal.”
Chan, according to on.cc which covered the case, countered: “You dare raise your voice at me.”
After a pause, he continued: “I have seen far more evil and treacherous men in this court. If you think you can scare me with your loud voice, you are wrong.”
“I am not your wife. I am not your daughter. I won’t be scared by your words. During your cross-examination you were doing your best to scare your wife and your daughter.”
The exchange at the High Court came soon after the verdict in the shocking case of abuse which emerged publicly after the arrest of the suspect last year.
He was found guilty on three counts of rape by a seven-member jury by two majority verdicts of 5-2 and a unanimous verdict of 7-0 after four hours of deliberation.
It was also revealed he had prior convictions, including one for an assault on his wife in 2012.
Jurors in this case heard the suspect, a part-time security guard, began sexually assaulting his daughter in 2015, when she was 10-years-old. The assaults, which happened while his wife was away, continued “almost every Saturday”, the SCMP reported.
It wasn’t until February last year that the victim’s mother learned of the attacks on her daughter. The case was reported to police via a social worker.
Chan’s reprimanding of the defendant also made reference to his aggressive treatment of the women during cross-examination, which he conducted himself.
In his remarks to the jury, Chan said the 23-day trial was one of the longest rape trials he had presided over, thanked the jury for their patience, and exempted them from jury service for 10 years.
Sentencing and mitigation has been set for December 4.
Prosecutor Terence Wai stated YHL was a university graduate who had fathered four children: two sons with his ex-wife, plus a son and daughter from his current marriage.
The defendant’s wife filed for divorce shortly after the case came to light. The divorce proceedings have not been formally completed yet, but she was moved out of the defendant’s home.
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