Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Possession for unlawful trafficking

Legal area

Court

14 Nov 1990

THE QUEEN v. LEUNG KWONG CHEUNG

Citation

THE QUEEN v. LEUNG KWONG CHEUNG
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA1139/1990

The conviction was quashed because the magistrate disbelieved the appellant's account that he had just been handed the packet — a fact that was not put to him in cross-examination and for which he therefore had no opportunity to call corroborative evidence — producing a real doubt that rendered the conviction unsafe; a retrial before a different magistrate was ordered.
9 Jun 1989

THE QUEEN v. FUNG WAI-CHUNG

Citation

THE QUEEN v. FUNG WAI-CHUNG
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA94/1989

Where a defendant, including an unrepresented defendant, offers a plea to a lesser offence which the prosecution does not accept, that offer does not constitute an admission under section 65C; the defendant remains entitled to deny the alleged facts and to cross-examine on possession. The magistrate erred in treating the unaccepted plea as an admission and in disallowing cross-examination; conviction must be quashed and retrial ordered.
16 Feb 1989

THE QUEEN v. CHAN CHO TEI

Citation

THE QUEEN v. CHAN CHO TEI
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC443/1987

The Court held that (a) admissions recorded in the circumstances were properly found by the trial judge to be voluntary and rightly admitted; technical breaches of the Judge's Rules did not require exclusion absent oppression or prejudice; and (b) for very large quantities of dangerous drugs those involved as major participants may properly receive sentences in the order of 20 years, so the sentence imposed on Lau was appropriate. Accordingly leave to appeal was dismissed for both applicants.
18 Nov 1988

THE QUEEN v. CHOW MAN WAI

Citation

THE QUEEN v. CHOW MAN WAI
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA927/1988

The magistrate's treatment of the appellant's subsequent arrest as strengthening the Crown's case was a misdirection that rendered the conviction unsafe; conviction set aside and retrial ordered.
21 Oct 1988

THE QUEEN v. TONG SI MING

Citation

THE QUEEN v. TONG SI MING
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA731/1988

The magistrate correctly applied Turnbull, accepted the arresting officer's credible identification (reinforced by the identity card and circumstantial facts), and there was adequate evidential basis for the convictions; therefore the appeal is dismissed.
7 Jan 1987

THE QUEEN v. WAN PUI HAY

Citation

THE QUEEN v. WAN PUI HAY
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC471/1986

The Court held that the Government Chemist's certificate was admissible and retained prima facie weight under s.25(1)(b) and that an expert analyst may lawfully rely on an accepted published standard (here the United States Pharmacopoeia) as part of his opinion without that reliance amounting to inadmissible hearsay; because there was no challenge to the reliability of the standard, the conviction was upheld.
5 Jun 1986

THE QUEEN v. HO SAI KUEN (D1) AND ANOTHER

Citation

THE QUEEN v. HO SAI KUEN (D1) AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC471/1985

The appeal by the 3rd Defendant was refused because the statutory presumption from possession of keys and drugs supported the jury verdict, the Judge's warnings cured incidental prejudicial references and precedent (Yu Tit Hoi) correctly precluded cross-examination on the unadmitted statement; however the sentence imposed on the 2nd Defendant was varied because the sentencing Judge failed to demonstrate proper consideration of the statutory requirements for offenders aged 16–20 under s.109A(1).
6 Nov 1984

THE QUEEN v. CHUI CHI-CHEONG

Citation

THE QUEEN v. CHUI CHI-CHEONG
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC388/1984

The Court reduced the sentence from 7 to 5 years because Chui's offense involved substantially less heroin and therefore substantially less culpability than co-offender Yeung; the trial judge's inference of prior trafficking from cash found was inappropriate given no prior drug convictions; the plea of guilty and mitigation warranted a reduced custodial term.
16 Mar 1984

THE QUEEN v. WONG KIN-WANG

Citation

THE QUEEN v. WONG KIN-WANG
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC696/1983

Statutory presumptions in the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance convert proof of sufficient custody/control of a vehicle and keys into a rebuttable presumption of possession and knowledge; the evidence that the appellant drove the vehicle, sat in the driving seat, had the ignition keys in the car and altered position to facilitate placement of the holdall was sufficient to allow the jury to apply the presumptions; the trial judge's directions were adequate and did not reverse the burden of proof; appeal against conviction is dismissed.
5 Nov 1982

YIM PO-LIN v. THE QUEEN

Citation

YIM PO-LIN v. THE QUEEN
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC796/1982

The trial judge misdirected the jury by treating strong suspicion together with deliberate failure to inquire as equivalent to actual knowledge as a matter of law; wilful blindness may permit an inference of knowledge but that inference must be left to the jury to decide on the evidence, therefore the conviction is quashed and a retrial ordered.