Read the full judgment text of HCMA 000461/1989 on BabelCite. This High Court CFI judgment was delivered on 9 May 1989 before Barnes J.
Criminal law – burglary – resisting police officer – appeal against conviction – costs – discretion – arbitrary order – grounds of appeal – weight of evidence – sufficiency of evidence – The appellant was found in a multi-storey building at 3.40am opening desk drawers. The police arrested him after he dropped a bundle of keys and struggled. He claimed he needed the keys to use a toilet. The magistrate convicted him and ordered him to pay HK$2,000 costs (equal to his bail amount). On appeal against conviction on three grounds (failure to give weight to the appellant's evidence, absence of rebuttal evidence, insufficient evidence), the High Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the magistrate had a sound basis for rejecting the appellant's evidence. However, the costs order was quashed because the magistrate gave no reasons for the amount, making it appear arbitrary. The appeal against sentence was abandoned. Outcome: Appeal against conviction dismissed; appeal against costs allowed; costs order quashed and sum to be repaid.
Legal issues: Weight of evidence · Absence of rebuttal evidence · Sufficiency of evidence · Costs order
Outcome: Appeal against conviction dismissed; appeal against costs allowed. Costs order of HK$2,000 quashed and sum, if paid, to be repaid to the appellant.