THE QUEEN v. WAN HIN-TAK AND OTHERS

THE QUEEN v. WAN HIN-TAK AND OTHERS

The court convicted those whose conduct and repeated acts manifest agreement to pursue the unlawful object by distributing and cashing cheques from the bogus account (1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th on first charge) and held agreement could be inferred from circumstantial and documentary evidence; the 6th accused's advice to depart, to test immigration and to propose a false explanation amounted to acts done knowing or believing the persons had committed arrestable offences and intended to impede prosecution, thus guilty of the second charge (conspiracy) and guilty under s.90(1) C.P.O. for advising a false explanation; the 3rd accused was acquitted where reasonable doubt remained owing to late...

Citation
THE QUEEN v. WAN HIN-TAK AND OTHERS
Parties
Prosecutor: The Queen; Accused: WAN Hin-tak; Accused: SO Yui-hung; Accused: PAO Wai-ling; Accused: YU Shing-chan; Accused: CHUNG Kwok-hung; Accused: David George WILLIS alias WAI Wah-kit
Court
District Court
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
12 May 1976
Case Number
DCCC166/1975
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Trial Judgment
Outcome
Guilty verdicts: 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th accused convicted of conspiracy (first charge); 1st and 6th accused convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice (second charge); 6th accused convicted of doing an act with intent to impede apprehension or prosecution contrary to s.90(1) C.P.O. (third charge). 3rd accused...
Legal Topics
Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, Obstruction of Justice, Advising/assisting Flight, Mens Rea for Conspiracy, Use and Weight of Immunized Witnesses, Circumstantial Evidence, S.90 Criminal Procedure Ordinance
Source Language
EN
Criminal Law Criminal Procedure Corruption/bribery Evidence Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice Obstruction of Justice Advising/assisting Flight Mens Rea for Conspiracy +3 more

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Parties

The Queen

Prosecutor

WAN Hin-tak

Accused

SO Yui-hung

Accused

PAO Wai-ling

Accused

YU Shing-chan

Accused

CHUNG Kwok-hung

Accused

David George WILLIS alias WAI Wah-kit

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Trial Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether accused entered into a conspiracy to obstruct the course of public justice by agreeing to accept and distribute corrupt monies obtained by police in return for non-interference
  2. 2 Whether advice or assistance to depart the jurisdiction or to give a false explanation constitutes an offence or amounts to conspiracy to obstruct justice
  3. 3 Whether agreement (the actus of conspiracy) can be inferred from conduct and circumstantial evidence

Ratio Decidendi

The court convicted those whose conduct and repeated acts manifest agreement to pursue the unlawful object by distributing and cashing cheques from the bogus account (1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th on first charge) and held agreement could be inferred from circumstantial and documentary evidence; the 6th accused's advice to depart, to test immigration and to propose a false explanation amounted to acts done knowing or believing the persons had committed arrestable offences and intended to impede prosecution, thus guilty of the second charge (conspiracy) and guilty under s.90(1) C.P.O. for advising a false explanation; the 3rd accused was acquitted where reasonable doubt remained owing to late...

Court Disposition

Guilty verdicts: 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th accused convicted of conspiracy (first charge); 1st and 6th accused convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice (second charge); 6th accused convicted of doing an act with intent to impede apprehension or prosecution contrary to s.90(1) C.P.O. (third charge). 3rd accused...

Orders

  • 1st accused (WAN Hin-tak) convicted on first and second charges
  • 2nd accused (SO Yui-hung) convicted on first charge