The attempted rape charge against ex-Evergrande executive Chen Fen was dropped on Friday, after the prosecution said that the alleged victim was not capable of testifying.
Chen appeared in front of Judge Judianna Barnes at the High Court. The ex-Evergande investment executive was accused of attempting to rape a woman, whose identity is protected by an anonymity order, on March 2, 2021.
Prosecutor Jonathan Man told the court on Friday that the alleged victim, X, was severely emotionally disturbed and extremely sad, and that she was incapable of testifying in court, the Witness reported.
The prosecution therefore offered no evidence, said Man, and Barnes ruled for the case to be dropped.
While an anonymity order was put in place to protect X’s identity, Barnes also lifted reporting restrictions on the reason why the case was dropped, to avoid the public thinking that the prosecution put forward and dropped the charges “for no reason,” HK01 reported.
The allegation also brought to light the issue of a controversial dinner, which also took place that night at a different location. Covid-19 social distancing rules were violated at the event.
Ming Pao reported last August that the dinner, at a private club in Wan Chai, was attended by three former and current Hong Kong security officials and was held to bid farewell to Song Ruan, then-deputy commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in Hong Kong .
At the time of the incident, only four people are allowed to sit at a table in restaurants. Nine people ended up being fined for breaching Covid-19 rules.
