Read the full judgment text of CACC 000109/1988 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 29 December 1988 before Cons VP, Kempster JA, Clough JA.
Criminal law – conspiracy to traffic in dangerous drugs – appeal against conviction – leave to appeal – applicants So Chi Keung, Leung Chiu and Hoi Wai Sang convicted in the District Court on 1 March 1988 of common law conspiracy to traffic in dangerous drugs between 2 and 14 August 1987 – evidence of police surveillance of Tung Tau Estate blocks 17 and 19, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon – video recordings edited from 90 to 15 hours shown to the trial judge with the consent of all defence legal representatives – police officer giving the commentary subject to cross-examination – trap-note banknotes dusted with fluorescent powder and bearing recorded numbers – two police officers testified to undercover purchases of dangerous drugs from the accused including the applicant – written grounds of appeal – So Chi Keung and Hoi Wai Sang withdrew their applications after counsel's argument fell on unfertile ground – only Leung Chiu's application proceeded – Leung complained of video tape commentary in which he asserted he did not feature – absence of fingerprints on banknotes seized on his arrest – use of police report books to refresh memory – whether grounds of appeal had merit – whether the conviction was safe – court found no merit in any ground – written admission that banknotes bore traces of fluorescent powder undermined the fingerprint complaint – video tape evidence supported by police surveillance and the police officer's testimony – report book practice accepted – applications of So Chi Keung and Hoi Wai Sang stood abandoned and dismissed – application of Leung Chiu dismissed – three months of time in custody pending the hearing not to be reckoned as part of Leung's sentence pursuant to section 83W of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap 221) by reason of lack of merits – counsel Mr Robert Buchanan of William Au & Co for Leung Chiu – Mr E C Harris for the Crown
Legal issues: Reliability of video tape commentary · Significance of absence of fingerprints on banknotes · Use of police report books to refresh memory
Outcome: Applications of So Chi Keung and Hoi Wai Sang stood abandoned and were dismissed; application of Leung Chiu was dismissed with no merit found in the grounds of appeal.