Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Practical use test

Legal area

Court

10 Nov 2021

HKSAR v. M

Citation

[2021] HKCA 1694
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC327/2019

The Court accepted the evaluations of the police and a senior officer that the appellant's information was vague, unreliable and already known or unproductive, and therefore not of practical use; accordingly no additional discount for assistance was warranted and the sentence was upheld.
19 Mar 2021

HKSAR v. “M”

Citation

[2021] HKCA 385
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC327/2019

The court must assess assistance on the basis of whether it is "of practical use" (which includes criminal intelligence and is not limited to tangible results), and law enforcement and prosecutors must properly evaluate and, where appropriate, disclose that assessment to the sentencing court so the defendant can receive any justified additional discount.