香港特別行政區 訴 周耀民及另一人

香港特別行政區 訴 周耀民及另一人

The Court of Appeal held the trial judge did not err: although ICAC conduct involved a breach of legal professional privilege, the breach was not shown to be deliberately exploitative nor used by prosecution to gain unfair advantage, and its seriousness did not meet the high threshold for permanently staying...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
香港特別行政區 訴 周耀民及另一人
Parties
Respondent: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; First Applicant: Chow Yiu Man Raymond; Second Applicant: Mah Pat Y.
Court
Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
24 January 2013
Case Number
CACC445/2011
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal (permission to Appeal Against Conviction) / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Conviction Decided by Court of Appeal (leave Refused)
Outcome
Application for leave to appeal dismissed; convictions on counts 2–8 upheld; acquittal on count 1 affirmed
Legal Topics
Conspiracy to Defraud, Legal Professional Privilege, Abuse of Process, Stay of Proceedings, Witness Credibility, Corporate Disclosure/listing
Source Language
ct
Criminal Law Evidence Procedure Constitutional Law Corporate/securities Law Conspiracy to Defraud Legal Professional Privilege Abuse of Process +3 more

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Parties

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Respondent

Chow Yiu Man Raymond

First Applicant

Mah Pat Y.

Second Applicant

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal (permission to Appeal Against Conviction) / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Conviction Decided by Court of Appeal (leave Refused)

  1. 1 Whether the trial judge erred in refusing a permanent stay for alleged breach of legal professional privilege (LPP)
  2. 2 Whether the breach of LPP was deliberate and sufficiently serious to amount to abuse of process warranting stay
  3. 3 Credibility and adequacy of the key prosecution witnesses (in particular the grantors of immunity)

Ratio Decidendi

The Court of Appeal held the trial judge did not err: although ICAC conduct involved a breach of legal professional privilege, the breach was not shown to be deliberately exploitative nor used by prosecution to gain unfair advantage, and its seriousness did not meet the high threshold for permanently staying proceedings; the trial judge’s credibility findings and evidential assessment were open to him and supported by corroborating documentary and financial-trace evidence establishing the conspiracy convictions for counts 2–8 (count 1 acquittal left intact).

Court Disposition

Application for leave to appeal dismissed; convictions on counts 2–8 upheld; acquittal on count 1 affirmed

Orders

  • Application for leave to appeal dismissed
  • Convictions on counts 2 to 8 affirmed; acquittal on count 1 maintained