Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Arrest without warrant

Legal area

Court

5 May 2005

YEUNG MAY WAN AND OTHERS v. HKSAR

Citation

YEUNG MAY WAN AND OTHERS v. HKSAR
Court

Court of Final Appeal
Case number

FACC19/2004

Appellants' arrests were unlawful because the arresting officers did not possess reasonable grounds to suspect the demonstrators had committed an unreasonable public place obstruction once the demonstrators' constitutional right to demonstrate was given proper weight; consequently the officers were not acting in the due execution of their duty when removing the appellants at the police station and the convictions for wilful obstruction of police and for assault (charges 3–6) must be quashed; PFO s50 must be read to require reasonable suspicion to prevent arbitrary arrest.
27 Jul 1994

R. v. SIU YAU KIN

Citation

R. v. SIU YAU KIN
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA206/1994

Given the magistrate's finding that the officer believed the appellant matched the description of the culprit and that the appellant gave evasive answers, it was open to the magistrate to conclude the officer had reasonable grounds to suspect guilt under s.50(1)(a); therefore the arrest was lawful and the officer was acting in the execution of his duty, so the convictions were upheld.
1 Nov 1989

THE QUEEN v. KU KAT-SUI

Citation

THE QUEEN v. KU KAT-SUI
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA816/1989

The magistrate properly accepted the police evidence; the officers had reasonable grounds to suspect the appellant of being an illegal immigrant and were authorized under ss.50 and 54 of the Police Force Ordinance to detain him for further inquiries; delaying notification of the reason for arrest until the appellant was secured was reasonable in the circumstances; the use of handcuffs was not excessive. Appeal dismissed.
13 Jan 1989

THE QUEEN v. CHENG CHUN WO

Citation

THE QUEEN v. CHENG CHUN WO
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA1650/1988

The objective test for reasonable suspicion requires that there be evidence before the magistrate showing reasonable grounds; reliance on an undisclosed cautioned statement not produced at trial meant the magistrate could not objectively conclude that Inspector Kwok had reasonable grounds to arrest, so the inspector was not acting in the execution of his duty and the conviction for assaulting an officer in the execution of his duty could not stand.

Hong Kong Case Law

YEUNG MAY WAN AND OTHERS v. HKSAR

R. v. SIU YAU KIN

THE QUEEN v. KU KAT-SUI

THE QUEEN v. CHENG CHUN WO