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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, to a question by the Hon Paul Tse in the Legislative Council today (November 20):
Question:
Some voluntary organisations dedicated to helping victims of sex crimes (victims) have pointed out that quite a number of victims have given up pursuing their cases as they are worried about exposing their identity or they do not wish to recount in court their experience of being sexually abused, thus allowing the offenders to escape justice and go unpunished. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of cases in which the prosecution helped the victims apply to the court for protective measures (i.e. via live television link or behind screen) in giving evidence in each year between January 2010 and September 2013, as well as those in which approval was given to the victims to do so, with a breakdown by category of victims (i.e. (i) person with mental incapacity, (ii) person aged 17 or below and (iii) able-bodied adult) in Annex 1;
(b) whether it knows the respective factors generally considered by the court in approving or rejecting applications from victims for giving evidence via live television link or behind screen;
(c) of the numbers of cases in which the victim made statements with the company of female police officers or by way of video recording after reporting the case between January and September this year, with a breakdown by police district in Annex 2;
(d) of the respective numbers of cases in which the defendant was convicted of rape or indecent assault in each year between January 2010 and September 2013; and
(e) of the respective total numbers of cases in which the Police discontinued investigation after receiving reports of rape and indecent assault in each year between January 2010 and September 2013, with a breakdown by reason of discontinuing investigation (including charge withdrawn by the victim, case not pursuable, complaint resolved summarily and false report, etc.) in Annex 3?
Reply:
President,
The Police endeavour to handle all sexual violence cases seriously with understanding and empathy for the dual purposes of avoiding further harm to the victims and bringing the offenders to justice.
The Police would thoroughly investigate each case of sexual violence and make every effort to collect evidence. Upon receipt of such a report, the Police will as soon as practicable assign a police officer who is trained to deal with sexual violence and who is of the same sex with the victim to conduct interview and take statements. The victim may be accompanied by a family member or a friend if so wishes. The Police will arrange a video interview at a "Vulnerable Witness Interview Suite" if a statement is to be taken from a child victim of sexual violence who is under 17 years old or who is mentally incapacitated, so as to reduce the victim's stress throughout the investigation. In addition, when legal proceedings are instigated, the Department of Justice (DoJ) will take into account the circumstances of individual cases and consider applying to the court for the victim for giving evidence via live television link or behind screen.
The reply to the Member's questions is as follows:
(a) and (b) According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), during the period of January 2010 to September 2013, the court granted all applications by the prosecution for the victims to give evidence via live television link. Please refer to the figures at Annex 4. The DoJ do not maintain the number of applications to the court for the use of screens.
In respect of giving evidence by way of a live television link, section 79B of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, Cap. 221 provides the test which the courts have consistently applied to consider the granting of the use of live television link. The provision applies to child witnesses, mentally incapacitated persons and witnesses in fear. In respect of child witnesses, in particular, the Court of Appeal has held that if the statutory criteria are satisfied, it should normally follow that an application to use live television link should be granted.
As to the use of witness screens, it is the DoJ's experience that the court may approve such an application when it accepts the argument that the use of screens will help the victim give evidence in a less stressful atmosphere and after carrying out a balancing exercise between this objective and the accused's right to confront his accuser. Cases where the use of a screen has been granted include those where excessive violence has been used or where the allegations against the accused are of a particularly scandalous nature, likely to lead to a victim being unable to testify properly without a screen and thereby rendering a trial impossible.
(c) The Police do not maintain the number of cases in which the victim made statements with the company of female police officers or by way of video recording after reporting the case. However, as mentioned above, upon receipt of a report of sexual violence, the Police will, as quickly as possible, assign an officer of the same sex with the victim for interview and taking statement. Figures of rape and indecent assault cases received by the Police between January 2010 and June 2013, including the number of cases in which the victims are female, are at Annex 5.
(d) The number of persons convicted of indecent assault or rape between January 2010 and June 2013 is at Annex 6.
(e) The Police endeavour to investigate all crime cases, including sexual violence cases, which are handled in the light of the circumstances of each case and the evidence gathered in the course of the investigation. Once there is evidence that a sexual offence has been committed, the Police will, as quickly as possible, arrest the suspect(s). Charges shall be laid if there is sufficient evidence. The Police do not maintain the total number of cases in which the investigation discontinued after receiving reports of rape and indecent assault, nor do they have any breakdown of such cases.
Ends/Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:14
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