THE QUEEN v. CHUNG CHEN-HSIN

THE QUEEN v. CHUNG CHEN-HSIN

The evidence of the prosecution's ballistics officer is admissible; the officer's status as a serving police member or possible connection to investigators does not render the evidence inadmissible but is a matter affecting the weight of his evidence for the jury to assess, and the jury will be directed accordingly.

Citation
THE QUEEN v. CHUNG CHEN-HSIN
Parties
Prosecution: The Queen; Defendant: Chung Chen-Hsin
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
25 March 1996
Case Number
HCCC397/1995
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Ruling on Admissibility of Expert Evidence
Outcome
Prosecution expert evidence admitted
Legal Topics
Expert Evidence, Admissibility, Bias of Expert, Weight of Evidence
Source Language
EN
Criminal Law Evidence Firearms Law Expert Evidence Admissibility Bias of Expert Weight of Evidence

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

The Queen

Prosecution

Chung Chen-Hsin

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Ruling on Admissibility of Expert Evidence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a serving police officer may give expert opinion evidence in a criminal trial
  2. 2 Whether an expert's lack of independence renders his evidence inadmissible or only affects its weight
  3. 3 Whether the jury should be warned that a prosecution expert may have a vested interest in the result

Ratio Decidendi

The evidence of the prosecution's ballistics officer is admissible; the officer's status as a serving police member or possible connection to investigators does not render the evidence inadmissible but is a matter affecting the weight of his evidence for the jury to assess, and the jury will be directed accordingly.

Court Disposition

Prosecution expert evidence admitted

Orders

  • Admit evidence of Superintendent Healy-Brown as expert ballistics witness.
  • Trial judge/jury to be directed that any potential lack of independence or connection to investigators affects the weight of the evidence and should be assessed by the jury.