HKSAR v. NGUYEN ANH NGA

HKSAR v. NGUYEN ANH NGA

The passport itself is admissible as the defendant's passport; the presence of chops/stamps is admissible as evidence that those marks were present in the passport but not for the truth of their assertions. Section 22 was not shown to be complied with, so the prosecution cannot rely on s22 to admit the chops as truthful without calling issuing officials. The prosecution may, however, rely on the form and contents to seek an inference that the passport was proffered by the defendant; the court exercised its discretion that the chop pages not be shown to the jury during the prosecution case but may be shown if the defendant elects to give evidence and relevant cross-examination arises,...

Citation
HKSAR v. NGUYEN ANH NGA
Parties
Prosecution: HKSAR; Accused: Nguyen Anh Nga
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
9 October 2012
Case Number
HCCC110/2012
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Ruling on Admissibility of Passport Markings Before Trial
Outcome
Passport admitted in evidence; chop/stamp pages excluded from jury during prosecution case but may be shown if defendant testifies and is cross-examined
Legal Topics
Hearsay, Admissibility of Documents, Judicial Notice, Probative Value Vs Prejudice, Cross Examination
Source Language
EN
Evidence Criminal Law Hearsay Admissibility of Documents Judicial Notice Probative Value Vs Prejudice Cross Examination

Case Brief

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Parties

HKSAR

Prosecution

Nguyen Anh Nga

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Ruling on Admissibility of Passport Markings Before Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether chops/stamps in defendant's passport are admissible evidence
  2. 2 Whether contents of those chops constitute hearsay if relied on for truth
  3. 3 Whether section 22 of the Evidence Ordinance authorises admission without calling issuing officials

Ratio Decidendi

The passport itself is admissible as the defendant's passport; the presence of chops/stamps is admissible as evidence that those marks were present in the passport but not for the truth of their assertions. Section 22 was not shown to be complied with, so the prosecution cannot rely on s22 to admit the chops as truthful without calling issuing officials. The prosecution may, however, rely on the form and contents to seek an inference that the passport was proffered by the defendant; the court exercised its discretion that the chop pages not be shown to the jury during the prosecution case but may be shown if the defendant elects to give evidence and relevant cross-examination arises,...

Court Disposition

Passport admitted in evidence; chop/stamp pages excluded from jury during prosecution case but may be shown if defendant testifies and is cross-examined

Orders

  • The defendant's passport is admitted as evidence
  • Pages of the passport containing the foreign chops/stamps shall not be shown to the jury during the prosecution case