Hong Kong Awaits Verdict in Lurid Sex Shop Case
Jul 11, 10:57 am ET

HONG KONG (Reuters) - There were too many holes in police testimony to convict the operators of a popular fetish shop of hosting wild sex parties, defense lawyers said on Thursday in one of Hong Kong's most lurid trials in memory.

Police evidence was "peppered with inconsistencies and discrepancies" and prosecutors had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, lawyer Graham Harris said in his closing remarks to a district court.

A verdict is due on August 19.

Defense lawyers also said that some of the acts the prosecution alleged took place never happened.

Local tabloids have splashed eye-popping testimony across their front pages in recent weeks, complete with graphic details and even computer-generated images of alleged sadomasochistic acts, shocking many readers.

Although Hong Kong has a thriving sex trade and some newspapers even offer brothel reviews, the Chinese territory is still largely conservative and sex is seldom discussed openly.

The case has sparked a rare debate over modern morality and whether the public interest can be harmed by what goes on between consenting adults behind closed doors.

Brenda Scofield, a 55-year-old Briton, was charged with "keeping a disorderly house" and hosting an "objectionable" performance last year at her Fetish Fashion shop near the city's trendy Soho entertainment district.

Scofield testified she did not know that some of the alleged acts had taken place.

The store manager, Loretta Mui Shuk-han, 40, faces the same charge, while Scofield's American husband Laurence Richard Scofield, 48, was accused of aiding and abetting the pair.

All three pleaded not guilty.

The Scofields and Mui were arrested together with 23 other people last August. The others have not been charged.

The sex parties came to light after coverage by a local magazine in early 2001 sparked an undercover police investigation.

Two undercover policemen testified that they posed as observers at a party in March last year.

They said they saw a man in a G-string kneeling in front of a seated woman. Upon her orders, he licked her boots, barked like a dog and then licked her toes.

The court also heard how a blonde woman dripped wax for 45 minutes over a Japanese man who was bound and gagged.

Police went back to the shop again in August. One of Hong Kong's finest told the court he allowed a woman to spank and whip him as he lay on a bench. Four fellow officers also attended the party.

During the hearing, Brenda Scofield testified that participation in the parties was always consensual. She said her parties were not intended for the general public but only those interested in bondage and other forms of sadomasochism.