Hong Kong's Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Swedish businessman Patrik Tobias Ekstrom on Tuesday, upholding his conviction for raping his domestic helper and ordering him back to prison for a seven-year sentence. The incident occurred on October 27, 2022.
Hong Kong's Court of Appeal on Tuesday upheld the conviction of Patrik Tobias Ekstrom, a Swedish national in his late thirties, who was unanimously found guilty by a jury two years ago on one count of rape and one of buggery without consent. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for raping his domestic helper in his bedroom on October 27, 2022, and had been granted bail pending appeal. Ekstrom maintained that the acts were consensual, with the helper entering his bedroom willingly, and denied threatening to kill her if she did not comply. His counsel, Elizabeth Herbert, argued that the trial judge failed to give the jury appropriate directions regarding evidence suggesting Ekstrom had raped another helper in the past. According to the victim's testimony, Ekstrom told her he had previously had sex with the family's former helper and said he had “done such a thing” before and could “get away with it again.” A three-judge panel rejected these arguments, as reported by the South China Morning Post.