Gavin Gao Refused Bail; Evidence for Sexual Assault is Sufficient
The pretrial hearing for Mainland Chinese actor Gavin Gao (also known as Gao Yunxiang 高雲翔) was held in Sydney’s Central Local Court today. Gavin, along with Wang Jing (王晶 ), were arrested for sexually attacking a 36-year-old Chinese-Australian woman on March 27. The judge has refused the pair’s application for bail, stating that evidence is “sufficient”.
Why Judge Refused Bail
The pair allegedly forced intercourse and oral sex on the victim, who had bruises on her legs and back. Police also found blood and semen inside Wang Jing’s room at the Shangri-La Hotel. Security footage showed the woman entering the men’s hotel room.
A woman known as Lilli Chen (陳莉莉) supplied $120,000 AUD for Gavin and Wang Jing’s bail. The judge pointed out that Lilli, who only had a mutual friend in common with Gavin, was not a prime person to supply the bail money. Furthermore, Lilli Chen’s company had large sums of money going in and out prior to the trial.
Most importantly, the judge pointed that that there is no extradition treaty between China and Australia. If the defendants return to China after being released from bail, there is no mechanism to ensure they will return to Australia for trial.
Gavin Maintains Innocence
The sexual assault allegedly lasted 36 minutes. According to the police’s ten-page testimony, page eight cited injuries Wang Jing inflicted on the victim. Only three lines from the statement stated Gavin’s involvement and did not specifically cite the injuries he caused on the victim.
According to Gavin’s defense lawyer, the prosecution’s evidence was not strong enough. The victim’s bruises in the photos can not directly be attributed to Gavin. The 35-year-old actor is willing to wear a tracking bracelet if released on bail. The defense lawyer maintained that Gavin’s career, which is equivalent to Hugh Jackman‘s popularity in China, would be ruined if he fled.
In Prison for One and Half Years?
Due to the high-profile case, the media flooded the court room today at 7:20 a.m. Gavin’s wife Michelle Dong (董璇), along with her parents, attended the court hearing. Disappointed by the judge’s refusal for bail, Michelle left while surrounded by bodyguards and refused to speak with the Chinese media.
Gavin’s studio released a press statement today and said they will continue to apply for bail through the Supreme Court. If this is unsuccessful, Gavin will remain in jail during the case’s trial period, which may take up to one and a half years.
Since his arrest, Gavin maintained claims of innocence. Through his lawyer, Gavin told his wife Michelle, “Don’t worry. Trust me. I didn’t do anything.”
The next court hearing will be on June 7.
Above: Gavin Gao’s wife, Michelle Dong, outside Sydney’s Central Local Court on April 10.
Sources: On.cc [1,2,3], Sydney Morning Herald
This article is written by Jayne for JayneStars.com.
Well might be bad timing but if a woman is assault in front of you, you gotta help? And if he helped her, surely she will not pull him down, so his involvement is questionable unless he got knocked out and just pass out in the room, in which case, bad timing for real, but the victim again could clarify?
All in all, it’s bad. Bye bye to whatever drama that was meant to be out. It’s now out… for the wrong reason lol
this guy’s career is so over
@m0m0 I know right, even if he is found innocent at the end. China? You are so doomed anyway….Quite unfortunate as I found him to be the better looking China actors. But sad for the wife and kid if he is what’s reported.
@wm2017
He’s ok looking. There are many better looking Chinese actors…..Wang Kai, Jin Dong, Hu Ge, Zhang Binbin, to name a few.
@ Jaynes Stars
Please share the picture(s) of the 2nd suspect also. I’m wondering why the victim was in that hotel room in the 1st place? Gavin Gao looks a little arrogant to me.
@dramas4me I haven’t come across any photos of Wang Jing. It is also unclear who he is, whether he is Gavin’s personal friend or another actor.
Blood? Sounds bad. Bruises on legs may mesn that she might have been held down on her legs.
Ok now I understand why they were refused bail.
Poor wife looks drawn.
Gavin Gao keeps saying he is innocent. How can he be innocent when all these bruises were found on the victim’s body. There was also semen and blood found in the room. This woman was savely attacked. Gavin has a wife and a mother. How would he feel if someone did to them what was done to the victim. As HZM says, he “will fight to the death!” to protect and save them, and rightfully so. Then how could he, as he claims he is innocent, then stand back and let his friend beat up and rape this woman? That is the million dollor question. If I was in that room and a friend of mine started attacking a woman in an inappropriate or aggressive manner, I would intervene, and if he continued, we would end up fighting, big time. If Gavin’s wife wants to buy the lie of her husband’s innocence, that is her problem. The way I see it, he is just as guilty as Wang Jing, even if he did not touch her. It is safe to say that both of them were involved in the vicious, unspeakable crime committed against this victim.
@bubbletea Exactly. I don’t know about you guys, but to me, Gavin came across as though he is either still unaware of the seriousness of the crime (he’s obviously delusional if he thinks that just because he “didn’t touch” the victim that automatically makes him “innocent”) or he is truly arrogant and thinks that his status as a celebrity will get him off the hook. Either way, his career is definitely over, regardless of how the courts end up ruling. And no, the judge shouldn’t grant bail because it’s pretty much guaranteed that, if released, they are going to leave Australia (didn’t his lawyer or someone mention Roman Polanski or something?) The whole argument about Gavin not wanting to jeopardize his career so he definitely won’t flee the country is stupid because quite frankly, his career is already ruined no matter which way they try to slice it – I’m sure if given the choice of being a fugitive on the run or having to rot in a foreign jail for the rest of his life (some reports claim that he is facing more than just 20 years in prison if convicted, though not sure how true those reports are, since not familiar with Australian law), he would probably choose to flee….he’s human after all (plus I’m sure he knows how China is with this kind of stuff, especially if he or his family have connections over there – he won’t be able to revive his career, but he’ll most likely be protected from having to serve jail time).
@bubbletea The defense lawyers would have to try to prove the woman’s consent or that her bruises were not inflicted by the men.
As the case progresses, we will learn more details about why she agreed to meet the men in their hotel room.
There may be more behind the story. If the men just want to have a threesome, it would be more convenient to just hire an escort. Pay some money to act out their fantasies, even if it may involve a “forced” fantasy. It just seems too risky for them to force themselves upon an unwilling woman. Were both men drunk and had poor judgement?
I’m not saying Gavin is innocent, as it doesn’t make sense for him to be inside the hotel room and “didn’t do anything” as he told his wife.
@jayne very good points. I wonder if Wang Jing called her to his room for some fun time and they started to get down to business and then Gavin was in the bathroom or closet and then came forward to join in the fun. Maybe Wang Jing was so turned on and wanted to finsh what was started, that he angrily beat the victim and raped her after she refused to take part in a threesome. Just a theory from me. My detective brain is getting the better of me, hehe. Whatever happened in that room, due to the evidence, these two men have a lot of explaining to do to the courts.
What an insult to Australians comparing him to Hugh Jackman! Wise judge refusing bail- a rich chinese man and no extradition treaty, of course he will disappear and never be seen in Australia again!
@myxx Yup. I’m glad that even audiences in China were mocking the defense, clarifying that Hugh Jackman is actually way more well-known and popular in China than Gavin is/was (aka Gavin is a nobody compared to the man who plays Wolverine so please stop using his name in vain, lol).
@llwy12
Even 2nd rate Hollywood stars are more famous worldwide than 1st rate Chinese actors. Gao only became well-known in China after his role in Legend of Miyue
@myxx ya I know! So funny! The first day the news of him broke on Jaynestars, everyone is like who? XD whereas I’m sure 8/10 of us would know who Hugh Jackman is
@myxx login in just to agreed with you.I was like ‘Gavin who’ he was compared to Wolverine ? Defense lawyer delulu much
@myxx
Australian media also labeled him as the Mel Gibson of China. That made me laugh.
@msxie0714 a man known for bad temper, assaulting women, now a nobody. Can’t say that not entirely accurate xD
@littlefish
where did you hear that he has a bad temper and assaulted women prior to this incident?
@msxie0714 Mel Gibson? Well there was report of him throwing phone at the hotel staffs, his ex wife said he was abusive, etc etc. but that’s why he was axe from Hollywood lol
@littlefish Melf Gibson became a pariah in Hollywood for anti-Semitic remarks.
#jayne Unfortunately if proven that Gao was at the scene of alleged assault, even if he did not participate in the assault, he may be named as accessory? Depends on what the ‘victim’ claims?
I thought the Wong Jing is a fellow actor? Why so many pixs of Gao but not WJ?
The guys might be drunk at that time to do unthinkable stuff in Australia.
@mangotango Gavin Gao is the reason why this case made international headlines, so his photos are featured in all the news reports. It is not clear whether Wang Jing is an actor, as news sources did not say so.
GG says he didn’t do anything but he was in the room. So, is he a witness? Lol. Anyway, being in the room at the time is bad enough to justify his involvement in it. Why didn’t he try to stop or rescue the woman when she most needed? Or is there something else he hasn’t told the police? given the guy said he wasn’t drunk or on drug. No matter how I see it, it is skeptical to believe he’s innocent. I hope he learns a life lesson from this. Don’t go to other countries and think that he can do whatever he wants. Afte all, Australia is not China.
Checked out weibo. Read that the blood is menstruation blood.
Wang Jing is rumoured to be the producer ie. the person who funded the movie. Gao should have left the room if he knew they were going to have sex!
Wonder who Lill Chen is? Court not accepting her bail because she has not connection to Gavin? Also the police must have checked her out and found that she has monies going in and out of her account. Sounds like a broker or go between person. Getting intriguing.
@mangotango I wonder the same thing too. I thought as long as you can provide the money, it was ok. Maybe that’s not the case. Can someone clarify ? Thank you
@mangotango If Wang Jing is the producer, then the 3 three of them know each other well from working on the filming project together.
One Chinese article speculated that Gavin gave Lilli Chen the bail money since she didn’t know him well and was unclear about the details of the case.
@jayne Intriguing isn’t it. We do not have all the facts so trying to piece the puzzles is a challenge.
It seems Gavin told that he was forced to go into room according to rumours?
My guess based on all these allegations and rumours…
There were three of them. When assault started, Gavin stood by and did nothing or he went out of the room without doing anything or try to stop the assault. If WJ is a producer ie he funded the drama then I assume GG did not want to offend him. So he took the stand, ‘see no evil do no evil”. Culturally such attitudes is sadly prevalent among Asians. Not my problem attitude.
If proven he was aware of the assault and not reported the incident, he would be implicated. If he had lie during interrogation, more trouble.
Lill Chen is more likely to be broker. So the identity of the person who tries to bail Gavin is unknown. It does not make sense for GG’s family to bail him through a broker. It is the responsibility of bailor to ensure GG does not run away. Hence the money itself is inadequate to convince them. It is not about the money.
@mangotango Parts of the police report have been made public and it looks like the charges against Gavin Gao are those of being an “accessory” to sexual assault. It’s pretty clear from the report that Wang Jing is the one being accused of sexually assaulting the victim, though Gavin’s role is not as clearly spelled out (he was definitely there but whether he took part in the sex thing is not immediately clear). Also, part of the reason bail was denied (aside from the flight risk and also the Lili Chen thing) is because the testimony of the victim corroborates completely with the evidence they found in the hotel room (i.e. she described in detail what Wang Jing did to her, including trying to penetrate her while being pushed against a window – investigators later found blood and semen in that exact spot she described). From what came out in court, it looks there is no doubt that sexual relations took place, but the defense lawyers are going to try to argue that what took place was consensual and not forced (not surprised, as that’s always the argument in these types of cases).
Either way they try to spin it, Gavin is definitely guilty merely by being present and not attempting to stop what was happening. He can profess his “innocence” all he wants by harping on the fact that he “didn’t touch” the woman but that’s not going to get him off the hook, especially when the crime was committed on foreign soil. I read that the victim is a Chinese-Australian woman who has been living in Australia for 10 years already and has a husband as well as young son. Apparently she’s part of the group shadowing the crew with filming due to her familiarity with Australia. Wang Jing supposedly is one of the producers of the series, which no doubt plays a role in why he was able to get the woman to go to his room. During the pre-trial hearing for Wang Jing (which took place right after Gavin Gao’s), the judge denied bail for him too on the grounds that they are afraid he is going to harass the woman if he were let out (apparently they have video footage of him acting aggressively toward her outside the hotel room the day of the assault). This Wang Jing dude sounds like a piece of work – feel sorry for those who had to work with him on that series….
@llwy12 thank you for the info! Hope those two get what they deserve! Poor lady, best wishes to her and her family 🙁
@mangotango if it’s menstruating blood, it wouldn’t be a damning evidence. And if because of the money disputes and frame them, it’s very easy to proof. The simplest and most obvious answer is usually the right one, they are not innocent I’m sorry
I was going to assume a devil’s advocate stance, because there were rumors that the victim wasn’t so innocent and there might’ve been monetary disputes going on. So she could’ve been crying wolf and trying to get Gavin & Wang Jing in trouble.
However, now that there’s physical proof of assault, I can no longer assume that. Even if Gavin never participated in the assault, being an accessory is damning enough.
On the unlikely chance that he was dragged in this mess without knowing the content of the situation, well that seems very unlikely. Hard to entertain that thought without further proof.
equal to Hugh Jackman popularity lmao, never heard of him while Hugh is known worldwide… anyway what I don’t understand is if he was in the room by innocence why he didn’t bother to help the victim?
What is the lastest outcome? I read the trial was yesterday??