The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a 25-year-old local man on Friday, in his current home, for having sex with a girl aged under 14 in his previous home on Wednesday after they met on a social networking application and developed an online romantic relationship a few days before, a PJ spokesperson said during a special press conference on Saturday.
They met in a cybercafé for the first time on Wednesday, after which the man tricked the girl into going with him to a flat – his previous home – by lying that he needed to visit his sick sister, according to the spokesperson.
While they were chatting in the flat bedroom the man asked for sex, but the girl refused. However, according to the spokesperson, the man ignored the girl’s refusal and had sex with her nevertheless. The girl did not resist.
As the girl only verbally refused the man’s demand for sex the suspect faces a child sexual abuse charge rather than a rape charge as he, according to the spokesperson, did not use violence or intimidation when having sex with her.
According to the spokesperson, the suspect surnamed Chan, who is married, told the police that he works as a food deliveryman.
According to the spokesperson, the victim met Chan on a social networking application on Sunday last week, shortly after which they developed an online romantic relationship.
The victim agreed to meet Chan in a cybercafé in the northern district on Wednesday, the spokesperson said, adding that at the cybercafé Chan told the victim that he needed to visit his sick elderly sister and asked her to go with him to a flat in the district.
During a chat in a bedroom at the flat, the spokesperson said, Chan “suddenly” demanded that they have sex, but the girl refused.
Chan ignored the victim’s refusal, removed her trousers, and had sex with her, the spokesperson said, adding that afterwards Chan took the girl back to the cybercafé and left her there.
According to the spokesperson, the case came to light after the girl told a social worker at her school on Thursday afternoon about the incident.
The social worker and the girl’s parents took her to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre for a medical examination. The hospital’s paediatric emergency department reported the case to the Judiciary Police on Thursday night, according to the spokesperson.
Upon investigation, PJ officers identified Chan as the suspect, before arresting him at his home in Areia Preta district on Friday morning, the spokesperson said.
In her statement, according to the spokesperson, the girl said that Chan did not use violence or intimidation when having sex with her.
Under questioning by the police, Chan admitted that he had sex with the girl on Wednesday although he knew how old she was.
According to the spokesperson, the police also confirmed that Chan was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for child sexual abuse in 2012, but the prison term was suspended for two and a half years.
Chan has been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further questioning, again facing a child sexual abuse charge.
Rape (Article 157 of the Macau Penal Code) refers to forced sex – namely sexual intercourse (vaginal sex), anal sex or oral sex – by means of violence or intimidation – regardless of the victim’s age and gender. According to the article, a person also faces a rape charge if they – by means of violence or intimidation – insert an object, or any particular part of their body, into the victim’s vagina or anus. Rape offenders face a prison term of between three and 12 years. They face a prison term extended by one-third of the normal duration if the victim is under the age of 16.
Article 166 of the Penal Code – child sexual abuse – covers any kinds of consensual sexual acts involving minors under the age of 14. The article states that a person who has had sex with a minor aged below 14 – such as touching the minor’s genitals – faces a prison term of between one and eight years. However, the offender faces a prison term of between three and 10 years if they engage in sexual intercourse, anal sex or oral sex with the minor, or if they insert an object, or any particular part of their body, into the minor’s vagina or anus.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded child sexual abuse suspect to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape on Saturday. Photo: Iong Tat Choi
