Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Seriousness threshold

Legal area

Court

27 Jun 2024

HKSAR v. LAU WAI YEE MONITA

Citation

[2024] HKCA 576
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC168/2023

The Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal because the applicant's grounds were reasonably arguable on central legal questions: whether the disclosure met the high seriousness threshold, whether an altruistic motive could amount to a reasonable excuse, whether the disclosure was properly categorised as nonfeasance so as to exclude motive from mens rea, whether acceptance of a retainer was sufficiently linked to misuse of public office, and whether the sentence was excessive; these issues warranted appellate determination.
15 Mar 2024

HKSAR v. LAU WAI YEE MONITA

Citation

[2024] HKCA 236
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC168/2023

The Court granted bail because the grounds of appeal (both conviction and sentence) were reasonably arguable and the applicant faced the real prospect of serving a substantial part of the sentence before the appeal was heard; the judge had not accepted the prosecution’s touting thesis, factual findings left room to argue error in convicting on alternative particulars, and the sentence’s custodial element was open to challenge given the applicant’s age, character and available non‑custodial options.