Hong Kong government statistician cleared of loitering charge near girls’ school
Defendant, 59, admits photographing 16-year-old girl, but judge rules loitering charge unsuitable as his conduct did not amount to a threat to the pupil
A Hong Kong court has acquitted a government statistician accused of loitering near a girls’ school and outside a classroom to photograph a pupil, ruling that his conduct did not pose an actual threat despite leaving the girl feeling unsafe.
Eastern Court Magistrate Kestrel Lam Tsz-hong on Tuesday found 59-year-old Patrick Lam Win-hon not guilty of one count of loitering causing concern, despite acknowledging that the defendant had loitered at one of Causeway Bay’s leading girls’ schools on July 5 last year.
The court heard that the statistician entered the school on its open day and spent 14 minutes on the fourth floor, where the classroom of the pupil he allegedly targeted was located.