Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Unlicensed carriage of passengers

Legal area

Court

13 Sept 2019

HKSAR v. CHEUNG YUK-FUNG ADRAIN

Citation

[2019] HKCFI 2280
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA398/2018

s52(3) Road Traffic Ordinance, properly construed, requires proof of the defendant driver's subjective purpose to drive 'for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward' (a mens rea element); no legal requirement of a direct contractual agreement between driver and passenger for conviction; the provision is not overbroad or unconstitutional as construed; appellate court affirmed convictions on available evidence.
13 Sept 2019

HKSAR v. HUI KWOK-WAI

Citation

[2019] HKCFI 2280
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA389/2018

Section 52(3) of the Road Traffic Ordinance requires proof of a subjective purpose: the driver must have been driving 'for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward' (a predominantly commercial purpose), but the statute does not require a direct carriage contract between driver and passenger nor a distance‑based reward; the magistrate's remedial interpretation imposing distance dependence was rejected; the offence is not characterised as strict liability in this judgment and the evidence supported convictions, so the consolidated appeals were dismissed and convictions and fines affirmed.