Read the full judgment text of FACC 7/2019 on BabelCite. This Court of Final Appeal judgment was delivered on 14 May 2020 before Chief Justice Ma, Mr Justice Ribeiro PJ, Mr Justice Fok PJ, Mr Justice Cheung PJ and Mr Justice Stock NPJ.
Criminal law – trafficking in dangerous drugs – retrial – second retrial – interests of justice – discretion of Court of Appeal – whether order for second retrial should be made – consideration of accused's mental condition – consideration of time spent in custody – applicant arrived in Hong Kong from Kuala Lumpur on 15 November 2012 with suitcase containing 1.79 kilogrammes of mixture including 0.8 kilogrammes of heroin – charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs contrary to sections 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance Cap 134 – whether interests of justice required ordering a second retrial after two convictions quashed – whether Court of Appeal erred in not adequately taking into account appellant's mental condition and lengthy custody – appellant had been in custody for 7½ years without conviction being upheld and faced third trial – diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder – history of self-harm incidents – Court of Appeal made no reference to medical evidence – this was a serious error of approach – second retrial is an unusual course requiring cogent and compelling reasons – insufficiently cogent or compelling reasons existed in present case – public interest in trying serious offences and strength of prosecution case did not outweigh hardship and mental condition factors – discretion whether to order retrial is usually that of Court of Appeal but will be reviewed where there is serious error of law or principle – Court of Final Appeal exercised discretion afresh – appeal allowed – order for retrial quashed – appellant ordered to be released from custody.
Legal issues: Whether a second retrial should be ordered in the interests of justice given the appellant's mental condition and lengthy custody
Outcome: Appeal allowed; order for second retrial quashed; appellant released from custody.
Cited by 1 case · Cites 4 cases