A traditional Chinese massage therapist who sexually assaulted six women at a Canberra massage parlour has been jailed for three years and two months, but will only have to serve 16 months.
Key points:
- Weiquing Liu pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual intercourse without consent, and five counts of committing an act of indecency
- One of Liu’s victims said his assault left her in a “cage of trauma”
- Justice David Mossop accepted that Liu was remorseful, and said he was unlikely to re-offend
Weiqing Liu, 34, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual intercourse without consent, and five counts of committing an act of indecency on the women between November 2019 and October 2021.
The ACT Supreme Court had previously heard that Liu thought sexually assaulting his victims would “entice” them to return and bring in more business.
The women had been seeking help at the centre in Canberra’s south for back and shoulder injuries and, in one case, fertility improvement.
The court heard how Liu’s wife had written to one victim who complained, suggesting there had been a misunderstanding because of his language limitation.
During sentencing this afternoon, Justice David Mossop noted each of the victims was in a vulnerable position, mostly undressed on a massage table.
He said each had been shocked by Liu’s actions.
“[One woman] was in shock and lay frozen on the massage table,” Justice Mossop said.
“She remained frozen in fear.”
One of the victims who gave a victim impact statement to the court said Liu’s assault had left a “permanent black stain” on her soul.
“I will never forget that feeling of being exposed and practically naked and frozen on a massage table,” she said.
“My body simply shut down.”
The court heard that after he raped her, Liu told the woman: “Next time you should book a longer session so we can take better care of that tummy.”
She told the court that nearly two years on from the “invasion” she had been diagnosed with PTSD, saw flashes of the offender while sleeping, had stopped performing stand-up comedy and struggled to go out alone.
She quoted a poem, telling the court she now felt like a bird caged in “bars built from rage”.
“I feel his wickedness has been stamped onto my body … and put me in this cage of trauma,” she said.
The court heard that after she was raped, the woman tried to build up the courage to scream.
Other victims told police they snapped their legs closed to stop Liu from touching them.
Sentence to be suspended after 16 months as reoffending unlikely
The key issue in the case was whether Liu’s actions were sexually motivated, as suggested by the prosecution, or due to his explanation that he thought he could drum up more business to help ease his financial pressures.
His lawyer Keiren Ginges said there was a “reasonable explanation” for Liu’s behaviour.
“He thought that by providing such a service, he would be enticing them to return and they would in fact recommend their friends … though he accepts this logic was bizarre,” Mr Ginges said.
“If he was grinning or salivating or acting in some way that might suggest he was sexually aroused, that would have made its way into the facts.”
But prosecutor Lewis Etheridge said that in nearly every case, the victims had stopped attending or had requested a different practitioner.
Justice Mossop said he could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the motivation for the offences was sexual gratification.
He said that left the motivation uncertain.
Liu wrote a letter to the court in which he apologised to the victims.
“The more I am now feeling the pain of the victim’s suffering, the more I hate my own stupidity,” he said.
“Never again will I conduct such wrongdoing as a result of my ignorance.”
Justice Mossop accepted the expression of regret.
“I accept he is very remorseful for his conduct and unlikely to re-offend,” he said.
Liu will only have to serve 16 months of his sentence before it is suspended with a 26-month good behaviour order and 200 hours of community service.
He was taken from the court to Canberra’s jail this afternoon.