Yuen Long district councillor convicted of having intercourse with girl under 16

A Yuen Long district councillor has been found guilty of having intercourse with a girl under 16 over a decade ago, prompting a government investigation that could see him suspended from duties. Yuen Long district councillor Sei Chun-hing. Photo: Sei Chun-hing, via Facebook. Sei Chun-hing was convicted at the District Court on Monday following the conclusion of his trial in July. He was charged with having intercourse with a girl under 16 and indecent assault, but was acquitted of the latter charge. The case revolved around two incidents involving a girl, known to the court as X, in 2008 and 2011. X told the court that she met Sei through a school event, local media reported. Sei was accused of groping X’s chest when she was aged 11 in Ko Shan Road Park, near her school, in November 2008. During Sei’s testimony, the defendant said that he only met X in December that year, and that they had never been to that park. Sei Chun-hing canvassing for votes ahead of the District Council elections in 2023. Photo: Sei Chun-hing, via Facebook. The defence summoned a tree expert, who testified that the type of tree found in the background of a photo could not be found at Ko Shan Road Park. The judge therefore cleared him of the indecent assault charge. According to the prosecution, the intercourse offence involved Sei and X having sex at his residence on March 14, 2011. X was 13 at the time. Sei denied the accusation, saying that his colleagues were at his home for a meeting that day, and that she did not go to his home then. He said he only met X at Tsuen Wan West MTR station after that, and they went to Tsim Sha Tsui together to have noodles. The defence submitted a photo of the two of them on the MTR together. Judge Stanley Chan said Sei’s testimony was false, questioning why they did not meet in Tsim Sha Tsui directly. Chan also raised questions about the photo, saying that the light outside the MTR windows was very bright. While the photo’s metadata indicated that it was shot at close to 7pm, Chan suspected that the information had been altered, local media reported. Meanwhile, X testified that the photo was not taken on that date. The defence said that all the photo proved was that they had taken the MTR together before. ‘A dangerous person’ A member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the city’s largest pro-Beijing party, Sei was elected to the Yuen Long District Council in 2023. District Court in Wan Chai. File photo: HKFP. During the trial, the defence asked X about her sharing of a petition in 2012 against national education, as well as her boyfriend’s posts in 2019 about the anti-extradition protests and unrest. X reported the incident to police in 2023. Sei’s lawyer suggested that she only did so for political reasons, The Witness reported. X explained that seeing online posts that Sei was running for the District Council triggered her memory of what had happened between them, so she began recollecting the incident in her mind and she approached Rainlily, an NGO that supports sexual assault victims, for help. 💡In legal reporting, HKFP is obligated to use the exact terminology and charges presented by the prosecution in court. If a specific legal charge of “rape” was not applied in a particular case, our reporting must reflect this and use the official language used in court. “In his role [as a district councillor], he has many opportunities to go into the community and into schools,” she testified. “I think he is a dangerous person. I don’t want there to be other victims,” X said. District Court Judge Stanley Chan. File photo: Judiciary. When asked by Chan if she never would have made the police report if he had not run for District Council, X disagreed. She said she had never forgotten the incidents, and that she was just not ready to face them. Sei, who was remanded into custody after being convicted, will be sentenced on October 27. He faces up to seven years in jail, the maximum term that can be handed down at the District Court. Investigation underway Authorities have appointed a committee to investigate Sei following the conviction. “The Government stressed that it places great importance on the conduct and integrity of District Council members. It added that it will closely monitor the ongoing legal proceedings and take appropriate follow-up action,” a government statement on Monday read. Under the District Councils Ordinance, committees can be set up to investigate alleged misconduct. The member could face sanctions including warnings, financial penalties, and suspension. Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Make a one-off donation. 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. More by Hillary Leung