Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Discharge/no case to answer

Legal area

Court

13 Feb 2014

HKSAR v. HUI RAFAEL JUNIOR , also known as HUI SI-YAN RAFAEL AND OTHERS

Citation

HKSAR v. HUI RAFAEL JUNIOR , also known as HUI SI-YAN RAFAEL AND OTHERS
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCCC98/2013

The judge applied the Galbraith/Li Fook-shiu standard: on the paper evidence a reasonable jury properly directed could infer that (a) the HK$4.125m payment and related conduct could be a corrupt sweetener rather than a genuine bonus, so D3's discharge on Counts 3 and 4 was refused; and (b) diary entries, involvement in termination and rental/transactional arrangements together with the routing of funds provided sufficient prima facie evidence to justify amending the indictment to join D3 to Count 5 and to join D2 and D3 to Count 7 (with consequential amendments to Count 8).
6 Feb 1991

PHUNG VAN TOAN AND OTHERS v. THE QUEEN

Citation

PHUNG VAN TOAN AND OTHERS v. THE QUEEN
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC13/1990

The court discharged the accused on the murder charge because the prosecution evidence was insufficient as a matter of law: the prosecution statements failed s.80B(2)(e) because statements were in Cantonese and not read to witnesses in their Vietnamese language as required; police officers' accounts of what witnesses said via interpreters at identification parades are inadmissible hearsay under R v Attard; the judge lacked jurisdiction to accept belated interpreter statements; consequently the identification evidence was legally insufficient to establish a prima facie case of murder (though i…
6 Mar 1990

ATTORNEY GENERAL v. LI FOOK-SHIU RONALD

Citation

ATTORNEY GENERAL v. LI FOOK-SHIU RONALD
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC3/1990

The Court held the judge applied an unduly strict test at the discharge stage by effectively requiring an irresistible inference beyond reasonable doubt at that point. The correct approach is to ask (1) whether there is some evidence of the crime, (2) whether the primary facts are of a quality permitting a jury to accept them, and (3) whether a jury properly directed could, may or might be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of the inferences necessary for conviction. Applying that test the disclosed materials were sufficient to leave the issues to a jury; the discharges were quashed and trial…

Hong Kong Case Law

HKSAR v. HUI RAFAEL JUNIOR , also known as HUI SI-YAN RAFAEL AND OTHERS

PHUNG VAN TOAN AND OTHERS v. THE QUEEN

ATTORNEY GENERAL v. LI FOOK-SHIU RONALD