B.C. masseur appeals convictions for sexually assaulting female clients
A masseur's appeal of three convictions for sexually assaulting female clients has been partially successful – with one of the guilty verdicts being set aside by B.C.'s Court of Appeal.
The charges against Rong Xian Li date back to 2017 when he was working at the Iris Day Spa in Surrey. He was the subject of a public warning and appeal for information from the Mounties in 2018, and one of the three complainants came forward after seeing reports about this warning, according to court documents.
Li represented himself at a judge-alone trial in 2020, where he was ultimately found guilty on all three counts. The province's highest court ruled on his appeal last week.
"Each complainant testified that the appellant touched, massaged, or squeezed their breasts in the course of the massages. They did not consent to this touching," the appeal court ruling says, summarizing the allegations that gave rise to the charges.
"The trial judge found that the complainants were each credible and reliable in their evidence of the sexual touching, and in identifying the appellant as the perpetrator," the decision continues.
Identity was a key issue at the trial because Li's defense was that he had never met, or massaged any of the women and that all three were lying. In addition to each woman identifying Li as the perpetrator, the Crown submitted supporting evidence showing that the women had visited the spa on the dates of the assaults and that Li was working at those times.
"The trial judge found that the appellant’s bare denial of having provided massages to any of the complainants, combined with his insistence that every other witness was lying and trying to frame him, to be unbelievable and inconsistent with evidence adduced at trial," the appeal court's decision reads.
In two cases business records such as appointment logs, were entered into evidence showing that the victims had appointments scheduled with Li, according to the appeal court's ruling.
In a third, the judge relied on the woman's testimony that she had verified the date and time of her appointment by checking her bank records for proof of payment.
"While the records themselves may have been admissible as business records, the Crown did not tender the records in evidence," the decision says.
Absent the records themselves, the woman's testimony about their contents was "inadmissible hearsay evidence." Relying on that evidence to find Li guilty was, the appeal court ruled, a significant legal error.
The conviction on that count was overturned, and a new trial ordered. The court dismissed Li's appeals of the other two convictions, finding no legal grounds to set them aside.
Li was sentenced to six months less a day in jail for each count of sexual assault, to be served concurrently, according to an emailed statement from a spokesperson for the B.C. Prosecution Service.
The Crown has not yet decided if Li will face another trial.
A spokesperson for the College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia has confirmed Li is not and has never been a member.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.