Pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker faces sexual harassment claims

Oct 9, 2009, 4:44 GMT

   Hong Kong - A pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong faced an investigation Friday by fellow legislators into claims that he sexually harassed a female assistant.

   Kam Nai-wai, 49, who is married, has been accused by former female assistant Kimmy Wong of making improper advances and later sacking her when she rejected him.

   Wong, a former TV news presenter in her 30s, filed a complaint to the Democratic Party after being sacked last month, detailing how she rejected his advances three months earlier.

   Kam has admitted telling Wong he had 'good feelings' towards her as they discussed her relationship problems in a restaurant, but denies sexually harassing her.

   His party and legislators from other parties have now decided to investigate the allegation, media coverage of which has attracted more than 20 public complaints against the lawmaker.

   The scandal is an unwelcome diversion for Hong Kong's Democracy Party which is struggling to put their campaign for universal suffrage in the former British colony back on the political agenda.

   In-fighting and a series of scandals have diluted the strength of the once-powerful party. Hong Kong voters currently elect only 30 of the city's 60 lawmakers directly, the remainder are returned by functional constituencies.

   Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 and was technically entitled to full democracy by 2007. Beijing, however, intervened to rule out universal suffrage until at least 2017.