Hong Kong Bar Association vice-chairman Martin Hui says four ‘safeguards’ are needed to ensure fairness for both defendant and victim
3-MIN READ3-MINJess MaPublished: 12:00pm, 8 Aug 2026The 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.
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.
