20 Jul 1988
ATTORNEY GENERAL v. TO FUK MING
- Citation
- ATTORNEY GENERAL v. TO FUK MING
- Court
- Court of First Instance
- Case number
- HCMA1049/1987
Because sections conferring power to order costs (notably section 20) apply to summary offences and the accused in two matters faced indictable charges which had not been validly converted to summary jurisdiction, the magistrate had no statutory power to award costs in respect of the indictable matters prior to assuming summary jurisdiction; therefore the cost order in favour of To Fuk Ming and the part of Chong Yuen Wah's order referable to the stealing charge (an indictable offence) were ultra vires and must be quashed, while the order was valid insofar as it referred to the summary offence…