The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a 16-year-old schoolboy on Wednesday for raping a 17-year-old schoolgirl on Sunday after the victim had repeatedly declined the boy’s pleas to be his girlfriend, PJ spokesman Lai Man Vai said during a special press conference yesterday.
The suspect and the victim are enrolled in the same school, according to Lai, who said that the rape happened in the girl’s family home in Patane district.
A year ago, the boy, surnamed Leong, got to know the girl who later introduced him to her parents, Lai said. Afterwards, the two families got to know each other. The boy repeatedly asked her to be his girlfriend, which she steadfastly refused, according to Lai.
On Sunday night, the victim’s mother asked Leong to bring something to her home. When the boy arrived at the victim’s family home, her mother had gone out while her father was sleeping in his bedroom, according to Lai.
In the living room, the boy again asked her to be his girlfriend. She again turned him down and went to her bedroom. It was then that the boy “lost control of his emotions” and rushed into the girl’s bedroom where he pushed her onto the floor and attempted to rape her, according to Lai.
The victim resisted and managed to run out of the bedroom, but the boy gave chase and pushed her onto the sofa in the living room, where he overpowered her, put on a condom and raped her, Lai said.
Afterwards, the victim returned to her bedroom, locked the door and cried, Lai said.
According to Lai, the boy then climbed into the victim’s bedroom through the metal cage outside the window and asked her to forgive him.
The victim’s cries had meanwhile awakened her father, who knocked on her bedroom door and asked what had happened, Lai said.
Due to the trauma, the victim did not dare tell her father about the rape. The suspect left the girl’s family home, according to Lai.
On Tuesday, the schoolgirl finally plucked up the courage to tell her father about the rape, according to Lai, who said that her father then phoned Leong’s parents to tell them what had happened. The boy’s parents told the victim’s father that their son was in hospital for treatment, Lai said, adding that the father then reported the case to the police.
According to Lai, the boy was arrested on Wednesday when he was discharged from hospital. When questioned by PJ officers, Leong admitted to having raped the girl.
Leong has been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further investigation and a possible rape charge. Rape offenders face a prison term of between three and 12 years.
The age of criminal responsibility in Macau is 16.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the 16-year-old rape suspect to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. Photo: Iong Tat Choi
