香港特別行政區 訴 林宗斌及另一人

香港特別行政區 訴 林宗斌及另一人

The trial judge failed to give adequate and specific directions to the jury on two critically prejudicial categories of evidence—(1) alleged post‑offence admissions attributed to the first applicant and (2) prior uncharged meetings/transactions described by the prosecution witness—such that the jury could have been...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2021] HKCA 1018
Parties
Respondent: 香港特別行政區; First Applicant: 林宗斌 (Lam Chung Pan); Second Applicant: 譚志輝 (Tam Chi Fai)
Court
Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
22 July 2021
Case Number
CACC285/2018
Procedural Posture
Criminal Conviction Appeal (leave Application) / Court of Appeal Determination; Leave Granted; Convictions Quashed; Remitted for Possible Retrial
Outcome
Appeals against conviction allowed; convictions quashed; leave to appeal against conviction granted; prosecution permitted to apply for retrial within fixed time; appellants remanded pending any retrial application
Legal Topics
Conspiracy to Traffic Drugs, Jury Directions on Inference, Similar Fact Evidence / Uncharged Acts, Post Offence Conduct, Hearsay / Second Hand Knowledge, Safety of Conviction, Retrial Procedure
Source Language
ch
Criminal Law Evidence Appellate Review Jury Procedure Conspiracy to Traffic Drugs Jury Directions on Inference Similar Fact Evidence / Uncharged Acts Post Offence Conduct +3 more

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Parties

香港特別行政區

Respondent

林宗斌 (Lam Chung Pan)

First Applicant

譚志輝 (Tam Chi Fai)

Second Applicant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Conviction Appeal (leave Application) / Court of Appeal Determination; Leave Granted; Convictions Quashed; Remitted for Possible Retrial

  1. 1 Whether trial judge failed to give adequate directions to the jury on the use of evidence of prior uncharged acts (similar fact)
  2. 2 Whether trial judge failed to give adequate directions on the proper treatment of alleged post-offence admissions and the required proof before using them
  3. 3 Whether parts of the jury directions on inference and standard of proof were misleading or insufficient

Ratio Decidendi

The trial judge failed to give adequate and specific directions to the jury on two critically prejudicial categories of evidence—(1) alleged post‑offence admissions attributed to the first applicant and (2) prior uncharged meetings/transactions described by the prosecution witness—such that the jury could have been misled or have wrongly relied on that evidence; those failings rendered the convictions unsafe, the proviso was not applicable, and the convictions were quashed with leave to retry reserved.

Court Disposition

Appeals against conviction allowed; convictions quashed; leave to appeal against conviction granted; prosecution permitted to apply for retrial within fixed time; appellants remanded pending any retrial application

Orders

  • Convictions of Lin Chung Pan and Tam Chi Fai set aside (quashed)
  • Leave to appeal against conviction granted for both appellants