Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Hong Kong Case Law

Insanity defence

  • 23 Jan 2026

    香港特別行政區 訴 吳彥達

    Citation
    [2026] HKCA 58
    Court
    Court of Appeal
    Case number
    CACC221/2024

    Leave to appeal was granted on grounds 2–5 because the court found those grounds arguable: there was a real question whether the trial judge properly assessed and rejected the defence psychiatrists' conclusions, failed to take adequate account of the applicant's psychiatric history when evaluating mens rea for each offence (per the Wang Minyi principle), and failed to make separate findings on participation and dishonest intent for each count; ground 1 was not arguable because privilege had been waived or was not properly before the court.

  • 2 Mar 2021

    香港特別行政區 訴 王敏怡

    Citation
    [2021] HKCA 182
    Court
    Court of Appeal
    Case number
    CACC267/2018

    The Court held that existing common law and authority correctly place the persuasive burden on an accused to establish legal insanity on the balance of probabilities; the trial judge's placement of burdens and questioning of witnesses was lawful and appropriate in principle, but the judge failed to direct the jury to take the applicant's proven mental illness into account when assessing whether she knew the nature of the items and the reliability/voluntariness of her confessions even if the insanity defence was rejected; that omission rendered the conviction unsafe and warranted quashing.

  • 11 Jul 2008

    HKSAR v. WONG HUNG FAI JOSEPH

    Citation
    HKSAR v. WONG HUNG FAI JOSEPH
    Court
    Court of Appeal
    Case number
    CACC153/2007

    The judge was entitled to conclude on the evidence that the applicant knew the nature and quality of his act and was aware it was wrong despite suffering from schizophrenia; the defence bore the burden to prove legal insanity, there was no evidential basis for automatism, and the indefinite hospital order under s.45 was justified by psychiatric evidence and public protection; accordingly both conviction and sentence appeals were dismissed.