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Hong Kong sex-abuse victim may sue ex-priest in Asian first
April 19, 2004
Hong Kong - The sex-abuse victim of a former Catholic priest is considering
suing the Church for 11 million Hong Kong dollars (1.4 million dollars) in the
first case of its kind in Asia, a local report said on Monday.
A man who was sexually abused as a youngster by ex-priest Michael Lau is
considering launching the suit against the Hong Kong diocese, The Standard
newspaper said, quoting sources.
It said church officials and Lau, 43, had received notification letters.
A secretary for Father Lawrence Lee, a diocesean spokesman, said the Church
would not comment on the issue.
Lau is serving a four-and-a-half year sentence in Hong Kong's Stanley Prison
after being convicted on three counts of sexual assault and one of attempted
buggery dating back to 1991 and 1992.
He was sentenced last year and lost an appeal last month.
The attacks happened when the claimant, now 28, was a pupil in a Kowloon school
where Lau was the headmaster.
Lau became a priest in 1991 but stood down in 1995 to become an insurance
salesman, the paper said.
The Standard said Lau and the Church had been given until Wednesday to respond.
If nothing was heard, the man would lodge his writ, it reported.
The head of the city's Catholic Church, Bishop Joseph Zen, was reported to be
holding meetings on the matter.
The 11 million-dollar sum would take account of mental anguish and lost income,
the report said.
Although suits have been lodged against the Catholic Church in relation to
sexual assault cases in the US, none have been issued in Asia, where a number
of paedophile charges have been levelled at former priests.
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