Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Contamination of evidence

Legal area

Court

26 Nov 2007

HKSAR v. LEE WAN LUNG

Citation

HKSAR v. LEE WAN LUNG
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC190/2006

Appeal allowed and conviction quashed because recordings admitted as the child's evidence in chief were not played in full and in open court before cross‑examination, preventing a proper assessment of reliability and risk of contamination; coupled with the trial judge's inconsistent acceptance of the fact of assault while rejecting identification evidence, this undermined the safety of the conviction and warranted a retrial.
26 Nov 2003

FINANCIAL SECRETARY v. FELIX WONG

Citation

FINANCIAL SECRETARY v. FELIX WONG
Court

Court of Final Appeal
Case number

FACV5/2003

The Court allowed the Financial Secretary's appeal: the Court of Appeal's acceptance of the 'contamination' doctrine was wrong; procedural unfairness does not automatically expunge evidence; the Tribunal's interlocutory ruling on the use of evidence was not properly susceptible to judicial review while the statutory inquiry remained ongoing; s.26A awards can only be made at the conclusion of the inquiry and the courts lack jurisdiction to award tribunal inquiry costs as consequential relief inconsistent with the statutory scheme; Mr Wong must pursue costs under s.26A once the inquiry conclude…
18 Mar 2003

HKSAR v. CHAN KA KIU

Citation

HKSAR v. CHAN KA KIU
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA1231/2002

The conviction was upheld because the forensic blood analysis showing 130 mg/100 ml (exceeding the 50 mg limit) was taken in accordance with normal medical procedures (venipuncture by nurse, alcohol-free swab) and there was no evidential basis that hospital treatment or drugs contaminated or affected the analysis; the defence's contamination hypothesis was speculative and insufficient to undermine the magistrate's assessment of the evidence.

Hong Kong Case Law

HKSAR v. LEE WAN LUNG

FINANCIAL SECRETARY v. FELIX WONG

HKSAR v. CHAN KA KIU