25 Mar 1976
LAI HING v. J. CATER AND ANOTHER
- Citation
- LAI HING v. J. CATER AND ANOTHER
- Court
- Court of First Instance
- Case number
- HCMP512/1976
Section 17(1) does not authorize indefinite retention to freeze assets and thereby circumvent the court procedure in s.14C; retention under s.17(1) is justified only while reasonably necessary to obtain evidence from the item or where the original document is essential proof and no alternative exists; here the receipts on their face contained no evidence and the primary purpose of retention was to prevent plaintiff using funds, so the receipts must be returned and the Commissioner should have applied for a restraining order if required.