A Hong Kong police superintendent has been acquitted of molesting and assaulting his female subordinate four times over seven months last year, after a magistrate said that his actions could be interpreted as “being merely playful”.
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The Fanling Court on Monday heard that Chan Kin-yee, 42, was cleared of one count of indecent assault and three counts of common assault against the victim, known as X.
In her judgment, Acting Principal Magistrate Veronica Heung Shuk-han said Chan and X shared a friendly relationship as superior and subordinate.
Chan, represented by barrister Jackson Poon Chin-ping, had earlier pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
Both Chan and X were transferred to the Tsing Yi Police Station at around the same time last year, and Chan said he was instructed to mentor X, who was facing stress at work.
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Last May, at a gathering at a bar with Chan’s former colleagues to celebrate his job promotion, X accused him of patting, squeezing and caressing her thigh while sitting next to her for five hours.