Read the full judgment text of CACC 000020/1991 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 5 September 1991 before Silke VP, Kempster JA, Power JA.
Criminal law – conspiracy to defraud at common law – nature of the offence – meaning of 'risk' to the victim – Jademan Holdings Ltd (JHL) – HK$15 million advances to Philco Nominees Ltd for non-existent securities purchases – HK$18 million in 'staff loans' to employees that were diverted – whether economic interests of JHL were exposed to unwarranted risk – whether trial judge misdirected jury on element of economic risk in relation to Philco loans – Philco Nominees Ltd had paid-up capital of only HK$220,000 – whether judge should have directed jury to consider risk of default by Philco – convictions on Count 1 quashed as unsafe and unsatisfactory – whether convictions on Count 2 (staff loans) were safe – judge gave favourable directions on unwarranted risk – jury entitled to find dishonesty from convoluted transactions – appeals of Tony and Patricia Wong on Count 2 dismissed – whether Connie Leung's conviction on Count 2 was sustainable – evidence related only to her role in procuring repayment of staff loans after resignation – conduct at least as consistent with advancing JHL's interests – conviction quashed as unsafe and unsatisfactory – whether separate charges required for each staff loan – point not pressed and not sustainable – applications for leave to appeal against sentence on Count 2 to be heard – Companies Ordinance (Cap 32) s.157H(2).
Legal issues: Misdirection on economic risk in Count 1 (Philco loans) · Safety of convictions on Count 2 (staff loans) · Sustainability of Connie Leung's conviction on Count 2 · Whether separate charges were required for each staff loan
Outcome: Tony and Patricia Wong's appeals on Count 1 allowed and convictions quashed as unsafe and unsatisfactory; Connie Leung's appeal on Count 2 allowed and conviction quashed as unsafe and unsatisfactory; Tony and Patricia Wong's appeals on Count 2 dismissed; applications for leave to appeal against sentence on Count 2 stood over for further hearing.
Cited by 3 cases