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Jess Ma

The Hong Kong Bar Association has said it “broadly supports” a dedicated offence for persistent child sexual abuse, after concerns over evidential issues in such cases were resolved in other jurisdictions in the past two decades.
Vice-chairman Martin Hui Siu-ting said that while the association had reversed previous reservations it expressed when the city last discussed such a proposal in 2001, the new offence would require safeguards to ensure both sides were treated fairly at trial.
“We broadly agree to the introduction of such an offence of persistent child sexual abuse, which somehow reflects the past experience of at least 20 years of different jurisdictions within the criminal system,” Hui said.
While the government’s proposed overhaul of outdated sexual offence laws does not include provisions for a dedicated offence for persistent child sexual abuse, assault survivors and advocates have called for discussions on the issue to be reopened to plug loopholes.
With a one-month consultation period on the proposals having ended, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Friday that his bureau would “actively consider” calls to introduce a separate offence for persistent child sexual abuse.
Authorities previously attempted to introduce such an offence between 2001 and 2002 to allow prosecutors to lay charges for long-term, repetitive sexual abuse even when the child concerned could not accurately recall the exact circumstances of each incident.
The proposal arose following a 1999 ruling by the Court of Final Appeal, which quashed the convictions of a man accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting his stepdaughter when she was nine after rejecting the “at least once” approach to prosecution.
Under the previous proposal, prosecutors could lay the charge by proving that abuse had been committed against a child on at least three occasions on different days, but without having to specify or prove the exact circumstances of each alleged offence.
The association, the professional regulatory body for barristers, and the Hong Kong Law Society, which regulates solicitors, made a joint submission opposing the proposal at the time. They said it would not be possible to specify a representative number of charges, while defendants might not have a clear idea of the allegations against them.
Hui, a criminal law specialist, said legal developments in other common law jurisdictions since the city’s previous discussions and the 1999 ruling had overcome difficulties in raising evidence, as well as those relating to the burden and standard of proof in such cases.
Hui said that after studying similar offences in Australia’s six states and two territories, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, the association now supported the city establishing an offence for cases in which individual charges covering events that took place over a long period would not be possible.
“I share such a concern as well, that a child who suffered persistent sexual abuse over a long period of time may perceive trauma as an undifferentiated whole rather than as separate events,” Hui said.
The senior counsel proposed four “safeguards” to ensure fairness for both the defendant and the victim, as well as the integrity of court rulings.
He said the first was that prosecutors should consider the use of individual substantive charges first, if possible, rather than relying on the new offence.




Prosecutors should also not be allowed to charge a defendant with both persistent child sexual abuse and other substantive sexual offences, such as rape, at the same time, or to amend a substantive sexual offence charge to the persistent sexual abuse charge at the end of submitting evidence in a trial.
“Ideally, we suggest that it should be made clear that there are two forms of offending. For instance, a substantive charge of rape, and on the other hand, a persistent sexual abuse offence,” Hui said.
“These offences are legally distinct and cannot be treated as alternatives to each other.”
He added that the association would also suggest requiring the consent of the secretary for justice before prosecutions under the offence could be launched.
Hui stressed that the safeguards would not make the persistent child sexual abuse offence a last resort for prosecutors, but would maintain procedural and legal integrity.
“These safeguards are to ensure that if we have this new offence, it would operate fairly and impartially and the court would know the imperatives of the balanced interest of both the complainants and the defendants in a trial,” Hui said.
On the proposed reforms, Hui said that a non-exhaustive list of 11 scenarios that would not constitute consent to a sexual act should remain open to dispute at trial to protect defendants’ rights.
“If there is evidence raised that the complainant did in fact consent, it should remain open to the court, the tribunal of fact, or the jury to consider that evidence in assessing whether lack of consent is proven,” Hui said.
The veteran barrister added that while the proposed reforms were a “major leap forward” in modernising the law, as many offences dated back decades and had roots in English law in the 1950s, authorities had to keep abreast of technology and victims’ conditions to ensure adequate protection.
“There must also, we suggest, be a nuanced understanding of the plight of the victims of such sexual abuse to better understand how the law can best protect these victims going forward,” Hui said.


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Hong Kong courts

Bar Association broadly backs new offence for persistent child sexual abuse

Martin Hui holds a copy of the Bar Association’s submission for the consultation on sexual offence reforms. Photo: Nora Tam

Hong Kong ‘actively considering’ dedicated offence to fight persistent child sex abuse

Hong Kong’s security minister has said that authorities will actively study calls to introduce a stand-alone offence covering persistent child sexual abuse. Photo: Getty Images

Chris Tang has also said the issue of AI-generated sexually explicit “deepfake” images will not be dealt with solely through the proposed sex offences reforms. Photo: Dickson Lee

Call to close loopholes in Hong Kong’s child sexual offence bill

Hong Kong is introducing changes to existing laws recommended by the Law Reform Commission following its reviews of sexual offences and sentences released in 2019 and 2022. Photo: Getty Images

The group releases a joint position paper on Thursday. Photo: Jelly Tse

Call for legal reforms to cover long-term child sexual abuse crimes in Hong Kong

Advocates say Hong Kong needs a specific offence for persistent child sexual abuse, as current laws fail to reflect years of harm. Photo: Theodora Yu

Survivors and support workers warn that trauma and blurred memories make it difficult for victims of long-term abuse to recall individual incidents in enough detail for prosecution. Photo: Theodora Yu

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Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Hong Kong Bar Association vice-chairman Martin Hui says four ‘safeguards’ are needed to ensure fairness for both defendant and victim


Hong Kong Bar Association vice-chairman Martin Hui says four ‘safeguards’ are needed to ensure fairness for both defendant and victim.


Bar Association broadly backs new offence for persistent child sexual abuse

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong Bar Association vice-chairman Martin Hui says four ‘safeguards’ are needed to ensure fairness for both defendant and victim

Hong Kong Bar Association vice-chairman Martin Hui says four ‘safeguards’ are needed to ensure fairness for both defendant and victim