A man from the mainland was arrested last Sunday for sexually harassing his friend’s daughter by grabbing her around the waist the 17-year-old victim’s guestroom in a hotel in Cotai, a Public Security Police (PSP) spokesperson said during a regular press conference on Friday.
The spokesperson said that the Public Security Police received a report from the victim’s father that his daughter was sexually harassed by his friend, adding that the suspect, who is in his forties and surnamed Zhou, denied committing the offence.
A PSP investigation showed that Zhou travelled to Macau with the victim and her father a few days before the alleged offence, and the trio stayed in a hotel in Cotai during their trip, with the girl staying alone in one room, while her father and Zhou were in another room.
According to the spokesperson, on Sunday night when the victim’s father was drunk after dinner, Zhou added the victim as a friend on WeChat. After obtaining the victim’s contact, Zhou asked the victim out to buy drinks at about midnight and then went to the victim’s guestroom to chat.
The spokesperson quoted the victim as saying that while chatting in the room, Zhou suddenly grabbed her around the waist from behind and sexually harassed her, adding that she resisted him and escaped the scene before he could take any further action.
Upon receiving the report, PSP officers arrested Zhou in the hotel, who claimed that he had been asked for a date by a female on WeChat, alleging that he had not been aware that the female was his friend’s daughter until he arrived at the room, the spokesperson said.
Zhou has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) after the police confirmed that he was lying by checking his conversation records with the victim on WeChat. Zhou faces a sexual harassment charge.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) on Friday shows police officers escorting the sexual harassment suspect from the mainland to a police station in Taipa.
