R. v. TO CHI HANG

R. v. TO CHI HANG

Because the judge accepted the accused had led police to the knife and cash but rejected that he made an oral admission, and because those acts were part of a single transaction, the associated evidence was unreliable once the admission was disbelieved; accordingly the conviction was unsafe and must be quashed.

Source-derived case information.

Citation
R. v. TO CHI HANG
Parties
Prosecution: The Queen; Applicant/defendant: To Chi Hang
Court
Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
3 October 1995
Case Number
CACC368/1995
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Conviction and Sentence (treated as Appeal on Conviction)
Outcome
Appeal allowed; conviction quashed; sentence set aside.
Legal Topics
Robbery, Admissibility of Confessions, Police Conduct (verbaling), Identification, Safety of Conviction
Source Language
en
Criminal Law Evidence Robbery Admissibility of Confessions Police Conduct (verbaling) Identification Safety of Conviction

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

The Queen

Prosecution

To Chi Hang

Applicant/defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Conviction and Sentence (treated as Appeal on Conviction)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the alleged oral admission to police was made and admissible
  2. 2 Whether the accused's act of leading police to a knife and cash was reliable evidence of guilt once the alleged admission was disbelieved
  3. 3 Whether the conviction was safe and satisfactory given the evidential deficiencies

Ratio Decidendi

Because the judge accepted the accused had led police to the knife and cash but rejected that he made an oral admission, and because those acts were part of a single transaction, the associated evidence was unreliable once the admission was disbelieved; accordingly the conviction was unsafe and must be quashed.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; conviction quashed; sentence set aside.

Orders

  • Application for leave to appeal treated as appeal and granted
  • Conviction quashed