Actor Gao Yunxiang allegedly laughed and slapped crew member during rape incident
Chinese actor Gao Yunxiang and producer Wang Jing have pleaded not guilty to charges of indecently assaulting and raping a woman at a hotel in Sydney.
Gao allegedly pushed an Australian crew member onto her knees before raping her in a bathroom in Shangri-La hotel in March 2018, the Sydney jury at NSW District Court was told, according to a report by the Australian Associated Press.
Wang also faces two additional counts of attempted rape. He and Gao, both 37, told the jury that all sex acts with the woman were consensual.
The woman stated otherwise, saying that she had informed Gao about her period and that her cries were ignored before she was raped.
"He didn't reply me but he pushed me down so I had to kneel," the woman told the jury on Wednesday (30 October). Gao had also laughed at her and slapped her bum, she said.
As for Wang, he had allegedly sexually assaulted the woman by performing an act on her. "I said 'no, don't do that. I want to go home'," the woman said.
The woman, who cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order, worked with Gao and Wang on the TV series Love in Aranya, which was filmed in Australia.
The court was told after the woman was raped, she left the hotel room at 4am back to her home, where her husband suspected something was amiss. She made a police report later that day.
CCTV footage showed that Wang was walking alongside the woman while carrying her bags. Prior to the incident, Wang allegedly told her that the production team would meet in his hotel room and that he had tried to kiss her.
“She raised her hands and said ‘no, no, no’,” the jury heard. The woman entered his room, thinking that she would be socialising with the other crew members but no one else was there.
During cross-examination, Murugan Thangaraj SC, Gao’s lawyer, said that the woman had told the crew members that the two men were drunk and had to be brought back to the hotel.
On Tuesday, Margaret Cunneen SC, who is Wang’s lawyer, said the account given by the woman wasn’t as what it seemed.
“There was no ‘no, no’ and no crying,” said Cunneen. “Mr Wang’s case is she was completely free to leave that hotel at any time, just as she was free to leave at any stage during what was a long night out.”
The trial continues.
