The woman who has accused Chinese film star Yunxiang Gao of raping her after a TV show wrap party in Sydney earlier this year will not have to give evidence at a committal hearing for the charges.
Gao and his co-accused TV producer Jing Wang, both 36, were in Australia to film the TV show Love in Aranya earlier this year when they allegedly raped the woman in a hotel room, after a night out at dinner and a karaoke bar to celebrate the wrap of production.
Gao faces nine charges and Wang 11. They have both been charged with aggravated sexual assault, causing actual bodily harm and depriving liberty, over the alleged events early in the morning of March 27 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney.
On Wednesday Local Court magistrate Beverley Schurr denied an application for the woman at the centre of the case, who cannot be identified, to be compelled to give evidence at the committal hearing.
The committal hearing in the Local Court will determine whether Gao and Wang stand trial over the charges in the District Court.
Lawyers for Gao had argued they needed to cross-examine the woman over matters including what they say are inconsistencies between her police statements about the alleged assaults, and inconsistencies between her account and security camera footage from the night.
They also said they wanted to question her over when she said Gao had left the hotel room, and whether or not she had in fact consented to sex with Gao and Wang.
The prosecution argued that inconsistencies either did not arise, or were irrelevant to the alleged events in the hotel room, and the other issues did not amount to special reasons.
Schurr ruled that the woman did not have to give evidence at committal as none of Gao’s arguments met the legal test, which requires special reasons for the alleged victim to testify in the interests of justice.
She said footage from the karaoke club allegedly showed consensual kissing and cuddling between the woman and Wang, and noted that consent to one kind of sexual behaviour is not evidence of consent to another kind of sexual behaviour.
She also said that unlike some similar cases in which the complainant had been compelled to give evidence at committal, there was "no evidence of retraction by the complainant" in this case.
After Schurr handed down her judgement, Gao’s barrister John Korn said he would consider whether or not to apply to the Supreme Court to review the decision.
International media and curious onlookers have descended on the various hearings in the case over the past six months, leading to courtrooms so full that people have sat on the floor or stood around the edges of the room.
As people entered Sydney’s Central Local Court on Wednesday afternoon, they were warned by sheriffs to not film on the courthouse stairs, and repeatedly asked to turn off their mobile phones while in the courtroom.
Korn also told Schurr that the sheriff’s department had made clear the unusual amount of interest in the matter and was wondering “if we can assist them” by excusing Gao from court mentions.
The court registry told BuzzFeed News Gao will not be required to appear at the next mention so long as his lawyers are there.
Gao was granted bail in July this year under conditions including electronic monitoring, and resides in a Chatswood apartment with his wife Xuan Dong, also an actor, and their young daughter. Wang was refused bail.
The matter is next in court on November 23.