Women allege ex-Geraldton masseur performed sex acts during massage sessions

For most, going for a massage is a time to relax and recharge — a safe space to take time for yourself. But according to nine women that experience was exploited, and left them violated and scared after they claimed their masseur indecently assaulted them. A Geraldton court last week heard from those nine women who allege Chun Hung Wong, also known as Clayton, performed sex acts and other inappropriate conduct during their massage sessions at a local clinic over an eight-year period. Mr Wong pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of unlawful and indecent assault at the start of his trial in Geraldton Magistrates Court last week. The 37-year-old was the owner of Brilliant Massage before the Marine Terrace clinic closed earlier this year, with defence counsel Ashleigh Antoine saying Mr Wong did not dispute that each complainant was a former client. But she said “at no time” did Mr Wong indecently assault any of the women. The first complainant called by prosecutor Sgt Nari Stewart was a 37-year-old woman who said she had an “above board” massage with Mr Wong before she attended her February 19, 2021 appointment at Brilliant Massage. She told the court she felt “very uncomfortable” when Mr Wong allegedly pulled down her underwear to the point where her buttocks were “completely exposed”. As the massage progressed, she heard “heavy, audible breathing” and felt Mr Wong was now working on her body with just one hand, signs which she claimed pointed to masturbation. “I was frozen in fear. I was stiff as a board. I was thinking ‘just do something’. I just shot my arm out to do something, to stop it from happening,” she said. The woman alleged Mr Wong massaged “too close” to her genitals, making her feel “violated” “I just wanted it to be over,” she said. Since the alleged incident, the woman said she has had several panic attacks and her mental health has suffered. She made a post on social media page Help a Sister Out Geraldton asking if anyone else had received massages leaving them feeling uncomfortable. Two women responded to the post, with the complainant encouraging the women to report their experiences to police. Throughout the hearing, defence counsel Ashley Antoine would go on to suggest it was Facebook posts, the local rumour mill, and media coverage which “influenced” the evidence alleged victims presented to court. Ms Antoine told the court one complainant had “exaggerated” her testimony and questioned why the woman did not make a report to the police until 12 months after the alleged incident. The complainant — who was eight months pregnant at the time of the massage — said she would “swear on God or anyone” that she was indecently assaulted by Mr Wong. “At the end of the day, he is listening and he did it,” she said. The woman alleged Mr Wong pulled down her underwear to the point where her buttocks were “fully exposed”, and she “grabbed” her knickers to “stop him pulling it down any further”. She said Mr Wong allegedly rubbed his genitals along her arm during the session, a claim which a 23-year-old complainant also made during her evidence. The woman said she was just 17 years old when the alleged incident occurred during her massage session with Mr Wong. “It definitely wasn’t an accident. I was in shock, I was very confused,” she said. The ex-masseur is alleged to have told the then-teenager he “liked the way (she) smelled” during the session. A 31-year-old woman now living in the Eastern States told the trial Mr Wong also made a “strange” comment about her appearance during a massage session in 2016. “He told me I had soft, smooth, skin,” she said. The woman described the transition of a two-handed massage by Mr Wong into a one-handed movement as a “red flag”. “I went into a state of shock, I was trying to make sense of what was happening,” she said. She also gave evidence of hearing a “repetitive sound” and seeing semen-like fluid on the massage table. But Ms Antoine suggested Mr Wong could have placed one hand on top of the other during the massage, which would explain why the complainant only felt one hand on her body. The complainant reported the alleged incident to police within hours of the massage, but said she was told there was little that could be done without any evidence. She again contacted police about six years later after seeing an article in the Midwest Times about Mr Wong’s court appearances. Media reports of an ongoing police investigation into the allegations against Mr Wong also motivated a 38-year-old woman to make a statement about a massage she had at Brilliant Massage in 2016. She told the hearing she had been experiencing hip pain related to her pregnancy, and asked Mr Wong for this to be the focus of her massage. The woman said she “became quite embarrassed” when she started to hear Mr Wong “breathing heavily” during the session. She alleged this was followed by the “distinct smell of semen”. Ms Antoine said this smell could have been sweat, but the woman disagreed and said there was a “big difference” between the smell of body odour and semen. Client booking records show the woman went back to Brilliant Massage after the alleged incident, something Ms Antoine said the complainant would not have done had she believed Mr Wong was “sexually aroused” during the massage. But the woman said she had “emotionally blocked out” the alleged indecent assault. “I thought at first maybe it was an accident. It was really hard to make sense of what happened,” she said. Another woman told the hearing Mr Wong allegedly rubbed his genitals along her arm and touched her pubic hair during her massage. Ms Antoine suggested had this occurred, it could have been an accident. But the now-22-year-old said the alleged incident went on for too long to be considered accidental. “It wouldn’t have been an accident for five minutes. . . I could see him touching my pubic hair,” she said. “I know what happened to me. I am telling the truth.” Magistrate Evan Shackleton initially placed a suppression order on all evidence presented at the hearing until the end of the prosecution case, but this order was removed late last week. The trial was adjourned as part-heard on Friday, with Sgt Stewart expected to call two expert witnesses when the hearing resumes later this year. Mr Wong will appear in the same court next month to determine when the trial will continue, with the court being told this could be as late as December.