12 Mar 2021
HKSAR v. CHAN LOK MAN, NORMAN
- Citation
- [2021] HKDC 240
- Court
- District Court
- Case number
- DCCC763/2020
The Court held that the remedial interpretation given by the courts (notably the Court of Appeal in Yeung Ho Nam) is binding and has rendered s118C Basic Law- and BOR-compliant by reading down the maximum sentence to 5 years for buggery with a boy aged 13–15 and life only where the victim is under 13; accordingly each charged offence was not punishable by life, the magistrate validly transferred the charges to the District Court, and the prosecution's application to transfer to the Court of First Instance was unnecessary and refused as not in the interests of justice.