14 Sept 2004
The Magistrate's factual findings—that the appellant remained stationary with a handcart occupying 2m by 1.2m after being warned and thus caused an obstruction—were supported by evidence and lawful application of the licence conditions; accordingly the conviction under section 4A was upheld and the appeal dismissed.
19 Feb 2001
By‑law 36(1) must be read in the context of the licensing scheme and By‑law 12; it does not apply to assistants lawfully employed by a licence holder, who are regulated by By‑law 12. The magistrate conflated the two provisions, relied on irrelevant reasoning, and wrongly refused an adjournment to call the licence holder; the evidence was insufficient to sustain conviction, so the conviction was quashed and sentence set aside.
7 Jul 2000
Leave to appeal was granted because the refusal to grant an adjournment may have prevented the applicant from adducing evidence that could establish a defence under By-law 12(1) (reasonable cause for the licensee's absence), and because Regulation 12(1A) could not be applied retrospectively to the alleged offence in July 1999; further questions as to the correct by-law to charge (By-law 36(1)) and sufficiency of evidence require further consideration by this Court.
23 May 1996
The steps of On Hing Terrace are a "public place" for PHMSO purposes and the Council had power under by-law 34(1) to require vacatur of a fixed pitch allocated under by-law 33; the Council's practice of re-siting fixed pitch holders where private landowners withdraw consent is lawful; however, in this case the Council failed to take sufficient steps to satisfy itself that the Applicant's pitch fell within that policy (notably by failing to investigate a possible possessory title arising from 45 years' occupation), rendering the 19 April 1995 notice and the decision to serve it unlawful and su…
19 Jan 1983
Conviction under Crimes Ordinance s24(a)(iii) was unsustainable because the complainant was not legally entitled to hawk without a licence; the magistrate misapplied the law in treating a disguised police officer as legally entitled to hawk; remedy is to quash that conviction and, because the appeal was necessitated by the magistrate's legal interpretation, award appeal costs under Magistrates Ordinance s120.