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Chan Sze Ting And Another v Hksar

Judgment Cited in Precedent Map Related
Vincent
Judgment Date18 December 1997
Year1997
Citation[1998] 1 HKLRD 45;(1997-1998) 1 HKCFAR 46
Judgement NumberFAMC4/1997
Subject MatterMiscellaneous Proceedings (Criminal)
CourtCourt of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)
FAMC000004/1997 CHAN SZE TING AND ANOTHER v. HKSAR

FAMC No. 4 of 1997

IN THE COURT OF FINAL APPEAL OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO 4 OF 1997 (CRIMINAL)

(ON APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL
FROM HCMA 106 OF 1997 AND 107 OF 1997)

Between
CHAN SZE TING 1st Applicant
LEE CHIN MING 2nd Applicant
AND
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION Respondent

Coram: Chief Justice Li, Mr Justice Litton, PJ and Mr Justice Ching, PJ

Date of Hearing: 5 December 1997

Date of Determination: 18 December 1997

_________________________

D E T E R M I N A T I O N

_________________________

Chief Justice Li :

1. This is the determination of the Appeal Committee upon an application for leave brought under section 32(2) of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance, Cap. 484.

Section 13 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance ("the Ordinance")

2. This case concerns section 13 of the Ordinance. It is convenient to set out its material provisions at the outset.

3. Prior to its amendment by the Prevention of Bribery (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance 1996 which came into effect on 18 July 1996, section 13(1) of the Ordinance provided:

"13. Special powers of investigation

(1) Where it appears to the Commissioner that an offence under this Ordinance may have been committed by any person, he may for the purposes of an investigation of such offence authorize in writing any investigating officer to exercise the following powers on the production by him of the authorization -

(a) to investigate and inspect any share account, purchase account, club account, subscription account, investment account, trust account, mutual or trust fund account, expense account, bank account or other account of whatsoever kind or description, any safe-deposit box, and any banker's books or company books, of or relating to any person named or otherwise identified in such authorization;

(b) to require from any person the production of any accounts, books, documents, safe-deposit box or other article of or relating to any person named or otherwise identified in such authorization which may be required for the purpose of such investigation and the disclosure of all or any information relating thereto, and to take copies of such accounts, books or documents or of any relevant entry therein and photographs of any such box (including the contents thereof) or other article."

4. The Prevention of Bribery (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance 1996 revised section 13(1) and introduced in section 13(1A) a judicial safeguard for suspects. We are only concerned with section 13(1) in the terms set out above prior to its amendment.

5. Section 13(3) of the Ordinance, which was not amended in 1996, provides:

" (3) Any person who, having been lawfully required under this section to disclose any information or to produce any accounts, books, documents, safe-deposit box or other article to an investigating officer authorized under subsection (1), shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary save only the provisions of section 4 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112), comply with such requirement, and any such person who fails or neglects, without reasonable excuse, so to do, and any person who obstructs any such investigating officer in the execution of the authorization given under subsection (1), shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of $20,000 and to imprisonment for 1 year."

The convictions

6. On 17 December 1996, the two applicants were convicted in the same trial by the magistrate on admitted facts of offences under...

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