Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Hong Kong Case Law

Found property

  • 16 Jan 2026

    香港特別行政區 訴 蘇偉倫

    Citation
    [2026] HKCFI 258
    Court
    Court of First Instance
    Case number
    HCMA338/2025

    On rehearing the court accepted that returning the wallet to MTR after using one card materially mitigated the first theft count and reduced the appropriate sentence to 6 weeks immediate imprisonment; the second theft count sentence of 4 months immediate imprisonment was not manifestly excessive and is upheld; because the magistrate had ordered concurrent execution, the total immediate sentence remains 4 months. Immediate imprisonment was nonetheless necessary given prior theft convictions and lack of effective deterrence.

  • 5 Nov 2020

    香港特別行政區 訴 伍榮新

    Citation
    [2020] HKCFI 2778
    Court
    Court of First Instance
    Case number
    HCMA290/2019

    The judge correctly applied the Ghosh test and, on the cumulative circumstantial evidence (months‑long retention of found items, inconsistent explanations and implausible forgetfulness), concluded that a reasonable honest person would view the conduct as dishonest and the appellant must have known it, supporting an inference of intention to permanently deprive; convictions therefore stand.

  • 20 Feb 1997

    R. v. CHEUK CHUN WAI

    Citation
    R. v. CHEUK CHUN WAI
    Court
    Court of First Instance
    Case number
    HCMA1474/1996

    Applying the Ghosh two‑stage test, the magistrate properly found that actively discarding a found wallet containing identification and money in circumstances where the defendant knew the owner would almost certainly not recover it met the objective standard of dishonesty and the defendant was aware of that; the conviction was therefore lawful and the appeal fails.