21 Nov 2018
The WhatsApp voice message on the iPhone unambiguously referred to the consignment that arrived the next day and was collected by the defendant; on the balance of probabilities the prosecution satisfied section 56 and there were no grounds to exercise discretion against forfeiture; therefore the iPhone (and the Nokia phone, battery and SIM cards) must be forfeited.
27 Jul 1990
The magistrate failed to exercise the requisite unfettered judicial discretion because he gave undue weight to asserted hardship and to the absence of Hong Kong fiscal loss; deliberate smuggling harms external relations and the purpose of the legislation is trade regulation and prevention of smuggling, therefore forfeiture under s.28 should have been ordered despite financial hardship of the respondent which arose from his own criminal conduct.
16 Nov 1982
Given the admitted facts, guilty pleas for importing unmanifested cargo, absence of satisfactory proof of ownership and no new evidence on review, the magistrate misapplied his discretion; forfeiture was legally justified and must be ordered under sec.119 Magistrates Ordinance.