I Had Prayed For Justice, Says Gang Rape Accuser

A teenager who accused Hong Kong police officers of gang-raping her last September says she had "hoped and prayed" for her complaint to be properly investigated, but says this has not happened with the authorities dropping her case.

On Tuesday, Police Commissioner Chris Tang announced at a district council meeting that the teenager was now a "wanted person" and the force plans to arrest her on suspicion of providing a false statement.

Tang claimed the teen had "absconded" and suggested she had "fled" Hong Kong.

In a statement issued through her lawyers on Wednesday, the teenager accused Tang of making another attempt to discredit her, with the police chief having previously made public comments dismissing her allegation.

"Yesterday, I learnt from media reports that the commissioner has publicly said that I am facing arrest for ‘making a false statement’. He again chose to do so publicly, in a manner which any objective observer would be driven to conclude was directed at discrediting me," the statement said.

"Seven months ago, I plucked up all my courage to file a complaint of rape and sexual assault by unknown police officers inside Tsuen Wan Police Station. I hoped and prayed that the complaint would be investigated impartially, in strict confidence and with respect for my privacy and dignity. None of that has happened.”

The teenager said her lawyers were informed on April 6 that the Department of Justice would not be taking her case any further, saying her complaint was "contrary to evidence they obtained".

"No particulars of that evidence have been provided despite requests by my lawyers so I have not been in a position to be able to convince the Department of Justice that my account is true; nor have I had any opportunity to refute the claim that my account is contrary to other evidence," she said.

The statement, issued on social media, did not mention whether the teenager has left Hong Kong as Tang suggested.