HKSAR v. Li Yin Ying

CACC 204/2007

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 204 OF 2007

(ON APPEAL FROM HCCC NO. 3 of 2007)

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BETWEEN

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Before: Hon Stuart-Moore VP, McMahon and Saunders JJ

Date of Hearing: 19 March 2009

Date of Judgment: 19 March 2009

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J U D G M E N T

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Stuart-Moore, VP (giving the judgment of the Court):

1.This is an application for a certificate that points of law of great and general importance were involved in the judgment we handed down on 9 January 2009.  The points were identified as:

“1.  To what extent a trial judge should direct a jury when intention to cause death or serious injury is denied, that in order to convict of murder they must be satisfied that (i) a really serious injury was a virtually certain consequence of the defendant's actions and (ii) the defendant appreciated really serious injury to be virtually certain.

2.  To what extent must a trial judge direct a jury's attention to characteristics of a defendant relevant to deciding whether or not the defendant had in fact been provoked into losing his or her self-control (the subjective limb of the test for provocation).”

2.In our opinion, both of these questions go to aspects of the criminal law which are well settled.  We therefore decline to grant a certificate.

3.This application is dismissed.

Mr John Reading, SC, DDPP and Ms Anna Lai, SPP, of the Department of Justice, for the Respondent.

The Applicant, in person.