A Hong Kong woman who has accused her former school teacher of sexually assaulting her over a period of nearly five years has told the court she initially feared reporting the case because it would be “too cruel” to the defendant and cause him serious repercussions.The defendant, Cheng Hon-sze, 32, appeared in court on Thursday where he pleaded not guilty to nine counts of indecent assault involving his former student.The alleged offences took place between November 2019 and June 2024, when she was aged between 14 and 19 years old.Tsuen Wan Court, the venue for the District Court trial, heard that Cheng attempted to develop an intimate relationship with the teenager – similar to that between siblings or couples – after he became her class teacher in Form One and Form Two at a secondary school.The complainant, now 21, alleged that Cheng first groped her at Fanling Centre car park on November 1, 2019, after learning she was in the neighbourhood to visit her relatives.About six months later, he allegedly took her to the same car park and made her perform an obscene act on him.