Ruling frees pair who had sex with girl, 13

南華早報 CITY4 |  CITY |  By Joyce Man	2009-06-11 標示關鍵字
Ruling frees pair who had sex with girl, 13
Two men yesterday received jail terms shorter than time served in detention for having sex with a 13-year-old girl during a night of drinking. Air-conditioner maintenance workers Pang Chi-fai, 30, and So Ka-chun, 19, were sentenced to 14 and 10 months in jail, respectively, when they appeared for sentence in the Court of First Instance. Mrs Justice Judianna Barnes Wai-ling said there was a need to protect those who could not protect themselves. The girl had low self-esteem and could not deal with the psychological wounds she had incurred during the incident, the judge said. A psychologist said work would be required for the girl to recover. The two, having already been jailed for the length of their sentences while on remand, are preparing to leave custody. In August last year, the girl was drinking with a group, including So, at Wo Hing playground in Fanling. Pang, whom the girl did not know, later arrived with a man surnamed Wong. Pang and Wong drove the girl to On Kwok Villa in Sheung Shui. Wong got out of the car while Pang had sex with her in the vehicle. The trio drove back to meet So, who took the girl to a basketball court and had sex with her. The girl told her friends and a relative about the incident, and the men were arrested.   Although the two had drunk alcohol before they had sex with the girl, it was not a mitigating factor, Mrs Justice Barnes said. The judge said that having seen the girl during trial, she accepted that the teenager looked mature beyond her years. She accepted that Pang did not know the girl's age, even though it was his responsibility to know. Given that So was at the gathering with the girl, Pang could have believed that the girl was similar in age to So, she said. Reports showed that Pang had no psychological or cognitive problems or unusual sexual tendencies, but that he and So cared little about anything and that So was impulsive. Pang has a one-year-old with his girlfriend on the mainland.