HKSAR v. Wong Kwok Hung

HCMA000550/1998

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)

MAGISTRACY CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 550 OF 1998

(On appeal from ESCC 1018 of 1998)

____________

____________

Coram : The Honourable Mrs Justice V. Bokhary in Court

Date of Hearing: 30 July 1998

Date of Judgment: 30 July 1998

______________

J U D G M E N T

______________

1. This is an appeal against a conviction of possession of dangerous drugs. On 1st May 1998, this Appellant, a man of pervious good character, was convicted after trial by James Lee Esquire sitting in the Eastern Magistracy on that charge. By way of sentence he was ordered to do community service for 80 hours. He now appeals against his conviction. His perfected grounds of appeal against conviction reads as follow:

"(1) The learned trial magistrate was wrong not to have excluded the verbal admission.

(2) The learned magistrate failed to properly consider the legal authority relating to the proper time to caution a suspect and failed to give proper and adequate reasons for his ruling upon the point of law or upon any breach of Administrative Rules and Directions for the Questioning of Suspects, see page 30 line H of the appeal bundle and in paragraph 3 of the Statement of Findings page 36."

2. It seems to me that the magistrate accepted and was entitled to accept evidence which showed that there was a spontaneous initial admission followed by a caution and then a further admission under caution. In these circumstances, I do not consider that the magistrate failed to exclude any admissions which he ought to have excluded.

3. Accordingly, I dismiss this appeal.

Representation:

Mr Albert Wong (of the Department of Justice) for the Respondent

Mr Duncan Percy (instructed by M/s Gary Mak, Dennis Wong & Chang) for the Appellant