HKSAR v. CHAU YUI MING
HTML content
FAMC No. 1 of 2019
[2019] HKCFA 12
IN THE COURT OF FINAL APPEAL OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO. 1 OF 2019 (CRIMINAL)
(ON APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL
FROM CACC NO. 441 OF 2015)
_______________________
BETWEEN
| HKSAR | Respondent | |
| and | ||
| CHAU YUI MING (周銳銘) | Applicant |
_______________________
| Appeal Committee: Chief Justice Ma, Mr Justice Fok PJ and Mr Justice Cheung PJ |
| Date of Hearing and Determination: 21 March 2019 |
_______________________
DETERMINATION
_______________________
Chief Justice Ma:
1. We are satisfied that leave to appeal should be granted in respect of the following questions of law:
“(a) Whether on a single count of trafficking in dangerous drugs which involves different quantities and types of drugs, and where there is evidence to support a number of possible defence scenarios in trial (i.e. primary and secondary defence strategy), the prosecution should have applied to amend the indictment to allow for alternative counts of unlawful trafficking in dangerous drugs for the different defence scenarios?
(b) If the answer to (a) is no, then whether the court should direct the jury that it was an ‘all or nothing case’ thereby depriving the jury of other verdicts which could be open to a defendant?”
2. We also grant leave to appeal to the applicant to argue that the trial judge’s directions to the jury resulted in substantial and grave injustice to the applicant.
3. The appeal will be heard on 15 October 2019.
| (Geoffrey Ma) Chief Justice | (Joseph Fok) Permanent Judge | (Andrew Cheung) Permanent Judge |
Mr Gerard McCoy SC and Mr Richard Donald, instructed by Cheung & Liu, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Applicant
Mr David Leung SC, DDP and Mr Joe Hui, SPP (Ag.), of the Department of Justice, for the Respondent