Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Accomplice corroboration

Legal area

Court

28 May 2001

HKSAR v. CHUI CHI SHING

Citation

HKSAR v. CHUI CHI SHING
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA25/2001

The magistrate was entitled to disbelieve the appellant on the basis of the evidence and deliberate lies; combined with physical possession of cartons later found to contain infringing CDs, the only reasonable inference was that the appellant knew the contents and that they were infringing; absence of independent corroboration did not preclude reliance on lies in the circumstances; appeal dismissed.
27 Nov 1998

HKSAR v. LEUNG SUN KEUNG

Citation

HKSAR v. LEUNG SUN KEUNG
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC17/1998

The Court held the trial judge correctly ruled there was a case to answer on the rape count because circumstantial and witness evidence could support a jury finding that intercourse occurred and that the defendant admitted it; evidence that the defendant spiked the victim's drink was admissible to prove the defendant knew or believed the victim was incapable of consenting and did not impermissibly relitigate the acquitted administering drugs charge, therefore the conviction for rape was safe and the application to appeal was dismissed.
18 Oct 1995

R. v. WONG KA SHUN

Citation

R. v. WONG KA SHUN
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC139/1995

The conviction on count 2 was unsafe because the trial judge failed to give a Turnbull direction on the identification evidence of the Thai police officers and failed to adequately warn the jury about the dangers of relying on uncorroborated accomplice evidence; given the centrality of the identification evidence and the prejudicial references, the conviction could not stand and the appeal was allowed with retrial to be considered.
7 Apr 1995

R v. IU TSZ NING

Citation

R v. IU TSZ NING
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC428/1994

Section 37C(2)(b)'s requirement that a non-captain crew member prove on the balance of probabilities that he did not know and had no reason to suspect unauthorised entrants is compatible with Article 11 because the prosecution retains primary responsibility for proving the offence and the presumption that crew knowledge follows from proved facts is rational and proportionate; PW2, though an accomplice, had corroboration in the applicant's own statements and the judge's finding that the applicant knew was amply supported; therefore leave to appeal against conviction is refused.
26 Aug 1992

R. v. YIU LAI KUEN

Citation

R. v. YIU LAI KUEN
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC16/1992

Export quotas, including the Director of Trade's right to allocate them, constitute 'property' under the Theft Ordinance prior to allocation; the trial judge properly exercised discretion in allowing the Crown to call additional evidence after defence final address without causing prejudice; sufficient independent corroboration of the accomplice existed through cumulative documents, cautioned statements and foreign witnesses such that the convictions were safe; leave to appeal against conviction is refused.
15 May 1992

THE QUEEN v. YIP CHIU CHEUNG

Citation

THE QUEEN v. YIP CHIU CHEUNG
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC181/1991

The Court held that an undercover officer who, in the course of duty, actually intends to carry out the agreed criminal acts can be a co‑conspirator; his motive or expectation of non‑prosecution does not negate conspiratorial mens rea; such an undercover officer is not an accomplice for corroboration purposes; the trial judge's directions and evidentiary rulings (including permitting memory refresh from verified contemporaneous reports) were correct; the conviction and 15‑year sentence are safe and are upheld.
25 Oct 1991

THE QUEEN v. WU TAT WAI AND ANOTHER

Citation

THE QUEEN v. WU TAT WAI AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC74/1991

The appeal was dismissed because the trial judge demonstrated sufficient awareness of the risk of relying on accomplice evidence, made permissible credibility findings that were within his province, correctly admitted co-conspirator declarations, the claimed nondisclosure of a tape did not prejudice the defence as its existence was revealed and defence did not pursue production, and the notebook constituted capable and cogent corroboration of PW9's evidence connecting the defendants to the conspiracy.
28 Feb 1991

THE QUEEN v. LAW WAI HONG AND OTHERS

Citation

THE QUEEN v. LAW WAI HONG AND OTHERS
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC491/1989

The Court held the convictions were safe: (1) the trial judge properly directed the jury on accomplice evidence and corroboration; (2) the cautioned statement of D3 was capable of amounting to corroboration under the Baskerville test because it went beyond mere presence and showed attachment to the robbery; (3) the amendment and preferment of the trial indictment to include D2 on count 5 was not a nullity where the judge consented to the preferment, there was no prejudice or injustice to the accused, and the order effectively regularised the voluntary bill process in the circumstances; accord…
31 Oct 1990

THE QUEEN v. PAUL KIN SEN, LIWANPO

Citation

THE QUEEN v. PAUL KIN SEN, LIWANPO
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC73/1989

The trial judge's directions were legally adequate: independent facts and circumstances from which knowledge could be inferred were properly identified as capable of corroborating accomplice testimony; the judge did not usurp the jury's function because he left the drawing of the inference to the jury. Convictions were therefore upheld. Sentences were varied on appeal to concurrent terms of five years' imprisonment to reflect appropriate exercise of sentencing discretion given the circumstances and statutory position.
26 Jun 1990

THE QUEEN v. TANG YEE CHUN

Citation

THE QUEEN v. TANG YEE CHUN
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC123/1989

The judge correctly identified and summarised evidence independent of accomplice witnesses that was capable of corroborating the accomplices' testimony; his directions on accomplice evidence, corroboration, lies and the evidence to be considered were adequate and not misleading; the appeal is dismissed.