14 May 2024
The magistrate, who had the advantage of seeing and hearing the witnesses, gave detailed reasons rejecting the appellant's account as inconsistent and illogical and permissibly drew the only reasonable inference of dishonest intent to permanently deprive; there was no legal or procedural error in those findings and the convictions therefore stand.
9 Feb 2024
On rehearing CCTV footage materially undermined the sole prosecution witness's account that assaults occurred before the driver detained the appellant; because the prosecution could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant committed assault occasioning actual bodily harm prior to any lawful detention, the conviction was unsafe and was quashed and the sentence set aside.
26 Jan 2023
The appellate court affirmed that the magistrate correctly found the officers were acting in the due execution of their duty, the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that each appellant assaulted or resisted those officers, the magistrate's credibility findings were not plainly wrong, and the custodial sentences were appropriate and not manifestly excessive.
18 Jun 2020
The court upheld the magistrate's findings that the gold slabs constituted 'cargo' within the statutory definition and were unmanifested; the statutory exceptions for passenger personal baggage did not apply to the facts and the wording does not extend 'passenger' to include a driver; the admissions were admissible and their exculpatory parts were properly rejected on the evidence; prosecutorial replies were permissible and did not render the trial unfair; the conviction was safe and the sentence was not manifestly excessive, therefore the appeal was dismissed.
19 Dec 2019
The appeal was dismissed because the trial Magistrate's acceptance of the prosecution witnesses' contemporary observations that liquid was flowing through a hose into the tugboat was rationally open on the evidence; photographs taken hours later showing a dry hose and a closed valve did not establish tampering or negate the witnesses' account when there was no evidence of the hose's condition or handling at the earlier time. The Magistrate did not draw an adverse inference from A1's statement and correctly applied the law that a lie alone is not proof of guilt; hence the convictions were safe…
26 Jul 2019
Magistrate's findings that the police clearly identified the appellant and observed him repeatedly loading valuable goods into a truck for delivery, combined with the appellant's removal order, supported the only reasonable and irresistible inference of employment; appellate court, applying rehearing standard and deferring to the magistrate's credibility findings unless plainly wrong, found no error and dismissed the appeal.
11 Apr 2017
The magistrate's findings that PW1 was credible and that the identification was safe were not plainly wrong; the evidence of the appellant dismantling electrical appliances in a fenced scrap yard for about ten minutes justified the irresistible inference he had taken up employment in breach of s38AA of the Immigration Ordinance; therefore the conviction is safe and the appeal is dismissed.
2 Jul 2009
Even accepting the forensic expert's conclusion that the disputed signature was PW1's, the signature and the employer's diary entries did not sufficiently undermine PW1's credibility on the assault; the magistrate's acceptance of PW1 was not perverse and the conviction is not unsafe, so the appeal is dismissed.