THE QUEEN v. HUI DIK LUN AND OTHERS
The magistrate's warning that fabricated testimony would be 'reflected in costs' was improper and prejudicial, and because the Crown did not seek to uphold the convictions the appellate court allowed the appeal and quashed the convictions.
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- THE QUEEN v. HUI DIK LUN AND OTHERS
- Parties
- Respondent: The Queen; 1st Appellant: Hui Dik Lun; 2nd Appellant: Liu Kai Choi; 3rd Appellant: Ko Chun Yuen; 4th Appellant: Cheung Yee Kwai
- Court
- Court of First Instance
- Jurisdiction
- Hong Kong
- Judgment Date
- 28 April 1989
- Case Number
- HCMA1797/1988
- Procedural Posture
- Criminal Appeal (magistracy) / Appellate Judgment (appeal Heard and Determined)
- Outcome
- Appeal allowed; convictions quashed.
- Legal Topics
- Common Assault, Improper Judicial Comment, Prejudice to Fair Trial, Threat of Costs Deterring Testimony
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
More case intelligence is available
Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.
Parties
The Queen
Respondent
Hui Dik Lun
1st Appellant
Liu Kai Choi
2nd Appellant
Ko Chun Yuen
3rd Appellant
Cheung Yee Kwai
4th Appellant
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal (magistracy) / Appellate Judgment (appeal Heard and Determined)
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the magistrate's comments threatening to reflect fabrication in costs were improper and prejudicial
- 2 Whether those comments deterred other defendants from giving evidence
- 3 Whether the convictions are unsafe and should be quashed
Ratio Decidendi
The magistrate's warning that fabricated testimony would be 'reflected in costs' was improper and prejudicial, and because the Crown did not seek to uphold the convictions the appellate court allowed the appeal and quashed the convictions.
Court Disposition
Appeal allowed; convictions quashed.
Orders
- Appeal allowed
- Convictions quashed
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
bjbj HCMA001797/1988 1988, No. 1797 --------------------- H E A D N O T E --------------------- Threat by magistrate to penalise lying defendants in costs - improper comment - convictions quashed. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG (Appellate Jurisdiction) MAGISTRACY CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1797 OF 1988 _______________ BETWEEN THE QUEEN Respondent HUI DIK LUN 1st Appellant LIU KAI CHOI 2nd Appellant KO CHUN YUEN 3rd Appellant CHEUNG YEE KWAI 4th Appellant Coram: Hon. Bewley, J. in Court Date of hearing: 28th April 1989 Date of delivery of judgment : 28th April 1989 ----------------------- J U D G M E N T ----------------------- The appellants were convicted of common assault by Mr Banks at Western Magistrates Court. The case arose out of a dispute following a minor traffic accident. In the course of the 1st appellant's evidence in chief the magistrate has recorded the following:- "What this witness has described is an impossibility. PW1 is lying on top of D5. D2 is struggling with PW1 to have his hands released from PW1's grip. At the same time PW1 is kicking his feet in the air and then kicks D2 in the stomach. All defendants are on the ground at this point. I only hope that all 5 defendants are not going to put up fabricated stories. I make no judgment at this stage but what this witness has said cannot have occurred in the manner he described. If there were fabrication it will be reflected in costs." Defence counsel at the trial has filed an affirmation in which he states that the other appellants subsequently indicated to him that, because of the magistrate's warning, they would not give evidence. They did not do so. The magistrate's s comments were, improper and should not have been made. The Crown does not seek to uphold the convictions. The appeal is allowed and the convictions quashed. (E. de B. Bewley) Judge of the High Court Mr D. Pang, Crown Counsel, for Respondent Mr G.J.X. McCoy (M/s Woo & Woo) for all Appellants PAGE - PAGE - &`#$ lQqQ lQqQ lQqQ HCMA001797/1988 Normal.dot Sinodata (H.K. Limied) Microsoft Word 9.0 Judiciary Hong Kong SAR HCMA001797/1988 Title Microsoft Word Document MSWordDoc Word.Document.8 HCMA001797/1988 Normal.dot Sinodata (H.K. Limied) Microsoft Word 9.0 Judiciary Hong Kong SAR HCMA001797/1988 Title Judiciary Hong Kong