'Flash mob rape' message man guilty (SCMP) 09. 21.2006
A District Court judge (in Hong Kong)yesterday found a married man
guilty of outraging public decency after he posted online
invitations to a gang rape, even though he had no real intent to
commit the attack.
In the first prosecution of its kind, Johnny Chan Sek-ming, 42, was
convicted of the offence, which carries a maximum jail term of
seven years. He had earlier pleaded not guilty to two charges of
committing an act outraging public decency.
Judge David Lok adjourned sentencing to October 4 pending
background and community service order reports.
While denying the invitations outraged public decency, Chan
admitted he posted two messages on a message board - "Gossip" - at
on August 13 and 15, inviting people to a "flash mob rape" to gang
rape women.
Posted under the alias "MasterMind", the messages read: "Flash mob
rape is formed by 5 to 6 boys specifically intercepting single
females. Each time, one of the gang [members] will rape the female
from behind and others will render assistance and act as
lookouts.
"Then we will have her mouth gagged and hands tied before flashing
[leaving] together. That'll be great! This modus operandi has its
origin in South Africa, now [it has] spread to the UK. I really
hope it can be organised in HK!"
The judge ruled that Chan did not intend to gang-rape a woman but
said the postings were "outrageous and disgusting".
"I cannot ignore the possibility that the defendant is some kind of
facetious person," the judge said, adding that a lot of internet
users posted messages just to arouse "various fanciful
discussions".
"[But] what [Chan] said to be a fanciful creation might materialise
into a horrible crime," the judge said, noting that the internet
would provide a good forum for people with common interests to
group together, and there was a possibility that the invitation
would attract such people.
Among the 102 responses attracted by Chan's invitations, the judge
found many readers were "very much upset" and did not regard them
as a joke.
Chan was arrested at his home on August 24 after his computer IP
address was traced.
Last week barrister James Cheng Chung-chin invited the judge to
consider the culture of the website, arguing its users would
recognise the invitations were not serious.
But in Judge Lok's ruling, he said Chan's messages were published
in a public forum and "there might be a lot of viewers who might
not be familiar with the so-called culture of the website".
He also ruled that the second message Chan posted, on August 15,
caused further outrage to readers of the message board.
A She.com spokeswoman said the company respected the verdict, as
well as freedom of speech, but said any articles involving personal
attacks, intrusion on privacy or obscenity posted on the website
would be deleted.
while HK is famous for its freedom,this act not tolerable.
from 
2.The
Times August 12, 2005,'Jack rolling' link to rape
gang
Three women have been grabbed from the street and raped since
July 31, while two more have escaped in a town where stranger
rape is almost unknown. A climate of fear has taken hold since the
latest rape, which came to light when the 30-year-old victim was
found with head injuries near a housing estate in the early hours
of Monday.
2.use net in a responsible way,dunt blame others if u
step
on the red line