MACAU DAILY TIMES 澳門每日時報UM professor guilty of sexual assault on student

THe The Intermediate Court has upheld the conviction of a university professor who was accused of sexually harassing one of his female students during a party on campus in 2022.

The 70-year-old professor, who worked at the University of Macau (UM), was initially found guilty by the Court of First Instance and sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence and seven months’ probation.

In his appeal, the professor claimed he could not remember any details of the incident and denied any sexual harassment, citing drunkenness as the reason.

However, the second instance court rejected the professor’s defense.

The court stated that the professor was capable of having a clear and rational conversation shortly before the alleged assault, showing that he was sober enough to control his actions and be held responsible for what happened.

“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.

During the appeal process, the professor raised concerns about the consideration of the teacher-student relationship in the case and criticized the student for posting the matter on social media, which he said was a breach of principles of judicial confidentiality.

Nevertheless, the Higher Regional Court ruled that the student, who had received a letter of recommendation from the professor, had no apparent motive to make a false accusation.

The only witness named in the proceedings is said to have neither seen the incident nor known the plaintiff.

Nevertheless, the court upheld the professor’s conviction on the grounds that the evidence presented was sufficient to establish guilt. VC

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