HKSAR v. CHAN YIU SHING AND OTHERS

HKSAR v. CHAN YIU SHING AND OTHERS

Application dismissed: on the balance of probabilities the recorded pre-trial publicity was limited in scale and largely historic, passage of time and available judicial measures (directions, adjournment, jury vetting) meant a fair trial remained practicable; therefore the threshold that no direction could remove prejudice was not met and a permanent stay as abuse of process was not warranted.

Citation
[2018] HKCFI 315
Parties
Prosecution: HKSAR; 1st Defendant: Chan Yiu-shing; 2nd Defendant: Cheng Wai-shing; 3rd Defendant: PENNELLI Rizzy; 4th Defendant: WU Kai-fu; 5th Defendant: MAN Ting-lock
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
28 February 2017
Case Number
HCCC41/2016
Procedural Posture
Criminal (high Court, Court of First Instance) / Pre Trial — Application to Permanently Stay the Proceedings (ruling)
Outcome
Application to permanently stay proceedings dismissed
Legal Topics
Pre Trial Publicity, Permanent Stay, Bias and Impartiality, Jury Directions, Admissions and Admissibility
Source Language
EN
Criminal Procedure Jury Law Abuse of Process Media Law Evidence Pre Trial Publicity Permanent Stay Bias and Impartiality +2 more

Case Brief

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Parties

HKSAR

Prosecution

Chan Yiu-shing

1st Defendant

Cheng Wai-shing

2nd Defendant

PENNELLI Rizzy

3rd Defendant

WU Kai-fu

4th Defendant

MAN Ting-lock

5th Defendant

Procedural Posture

Criminal (high Court, Court of First Instance) / Pre Trial — Application to Permanently Stay the Proceedings (ruling)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether prejudicial pre-trial publicity has rendered a fair trial impossible such that a permanent stay is required
  2. 2 Whether a potential juror who may have published adverse material creates actual or apparent bias that is incurable
  3. 3 Whether available remedies (directions, adjournment, jury vetting) suffice to secure a fair trial

Ratio Decidendi

Application dismissed: on the balance of probabilities the recorded pre-trial publicity was limited in scale and largely historic, passage of time and available judicial measures (directions, adjournment, jury vetting) meant a fair trial remained practicable; therefore the threshold that no direction could remove prejudice was not met and a permanent stay as abuse of process was not warranted.

Court Disposition

Application to permanently stay proceedings dismissed

Orders

  • Application to permanently stay proceedings dismissed
  • Judge attached proposed jury directions to be used throughout trial