Swedish businessman denies raping Nepalese domestic helper in Hong Kong home
- Patrik Tobias Ekstrom allegedly was drunk and offered her money for sex, but when she refused, he dragged her into his bedroom
A Swedish businessman has been accused of raping his helper in a Hong Kong residence two years ago while his wife and the children were out of town, with the alleged victim telling the court the employer threatened to kill her if she failed to comply.
As the trial opened in the High Court, prosecutor Diane Crebbin told the jury on Wednesday that Swedish national Patrik Tobias Ekstrom, 36, had claimed he was a “rich man” and offered to pay the helper for sex before he forced himself onto her on the night of October 27, 2022 in a house in Shek O.
Ekstrom has denied a count of rape and another of buggery without consent. The alleged incident lasted for about 15 to 20 minutes and violence was exerted on her during intercourse, according to her testimony in court.
The prosecution alleged the defendant returned home drunk after he learned his wife had taken their three children back to her home country of Japan. The marriage had already been failing, according to the defendant.
The alleged victim, who is of Nepalese descent and asked to remain anonymous, testified by video that the defendant had offered to pay her for sex and kept saying “I love you” even after she explicitly rejected him.
“He told me directly that he wanted to have sexual intercourse with me, and then he said [he] also wanted [my] daughter,” the helper said. Her daughter was not staying in the same house with the defendant.
She recounted the defendant at one point was being very emotional and said he would beat and kill her if she did not satisfy him.
