Guilty verdict against UM professor in sexual assault case confirmed

The Macau Intermediate Court has upheld the guilty verdict of a university professor accused of sexually harassing his student during a party on campus.

The alleged sexual misconduct occurred during the Covid pandemic in 2022, when movement restrictions were largely in place across the city.

The suspect, a man in his 70s who worked at the University of Macau, was found guilty by the Court of First Instance and sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence and a seven-month suspended sentence.

In his appeal, he claimed that he could not remember any details of the incident and denied any form of sexual harassment, citing reasons such as being too drunk.

However, the court of second instance found that the applicant had been sober enough to hold a coherent academic conversation shortly before the incident and concluded that he must have been cognitively capable of maintaining self-control.

“This suggests that he was conscious at the time and was not in a state where he could not be held responsible,” the court said in a statement.

According to the statement, when he was appointed, the professor emphasized that he had never been accused of disrespect towards women in his almost 30-year career.

He also raised concerns about the inclusion of the teacher-student relationship in the case and criticized the plaintiff for publishing the matter on social media, which was a breach of the principles of judicial confidentiality.

The only witness named in the proceedings is said to have not seen the incident and does not know the plaintiff.

However, the Higher Regional Court ruled that the plaintiff, who had received a letter of recommendation from the appellant, had no motive to make a false accusation.