Hong Kong barrister granted temporary anonymity in molestation case
Court approves 32-year-old defendant’s request to hide his name to protect alleged victim’s identity
A Hong Kong barrister has been granted permission to hide his name in legal proceedings after being charged with molesting his pupil twice at his home eight years ago.
The 32-year-old defendant, who represented himself at Eastern Court on Monday, applied for an anonymity order on the grounds that it could protect the identity of the person involved.
The barrister faced two counts of indecent assault, alleging that he molested a person in a Sai Ying Pun flat on August 30, 2017.
Prosecutors argued that a defendant’s name could only be hidden in the circumstance that he and the victim were relatives.
In this case, the defendant’s name should be revealed as he was just the master of the alleged victim, they added.
Principal Magistrate David Cheung Chi-wai expressed his concern that the legal industry’s inner circle might figure out the victim’s identity if the defendant’s name was revealed, as some might recall who was doing pupillage with him at that time.