‘He was a sexual predator’: Former Hanergy director jailed eight years for Hong Kong rape
A former director of a mainland renewable energy multinational, branded a "sexual predator" by a High Court judge, was jailed for eight years for raping a woman and indecently assaulting another during visits to Hong Kong two years ago.
A former director of a mainland renewable energy multinational, branded a "sexual predator" by a High Court judge, was jailed for eight years yesterday for raping a woman and indecently assaulting another during visits to Hong Kong two years ago.
Jailing 36-year-old Belgian businessman Laurent Frank, previously a senior business development director with Hanergy Holding Group, Deputy High Court Judge Mr Justice Michael McMahon said Frank made use of social media websites "for the purpose of eventually meeting [the victims] and having intercourse with them".
Defence counsel Daniel Marash SC said Hanergy Holding, which has hit the headlines in recent weeks after wild fluctuations in the share price of its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, had terminated Frank's contract after learning of the case.
The barrister added Frank used "fairly minimal force" on the rape victim and she had no injuries. Frank's mother was in court throughout the trial, supporting her son who came to Hong Kong in 2013.
The maximum penalty for rape is life imprisonment.
On Wednesday, a seven-member jury gave a unanimous guilty verdict after more than a day of deliberation. The jurors, however, acquitted Frank unanimously of another count of rape.
Previously, the court heard Frank allegedly assaulted three victims, identified as W, X and Y, in his Causeway Bay hotel room between May and October 2013, after he met them through social media websites.
Yesterday, McMahon said the aggravating factors in the rape case were that the university student was a virgin and Frank did not use a condom.
He said: "[Y] said …she had lost something very important. The culpability of the defendant is thereby increased."
W, the alleged victim in the charge Frank was acquitted of, had told the court she was raped after returning to Frank's hotel room following dinner on May 1.
According to Frank's LinkedIn profile, he has held teaching positions at the University of Adelaide's Shanghai branch and the Sino-British College of Shanghai. He also worked for solar energy companies in Hong Kong and on the mainland.
