Lau Chau v The Queen

Judgment Cited authorities (1) Cited in Precedent Map Related
Judgment Date07 August 1968
Judgement NumberCACC375/1968
Year1968
CourtCourt of Appeal (Hong Kong)
CACC000375/1968 LAU CHAU v. THE QUEEN

CACC000375/1968

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.375 OF 1968

-----------------

Between:
LAU CHAU

Appellant
AND
THE QUEEN

Respondent

Coram: Mills-Owens J.

Date of Judgment: 7 August 1968

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JUDGMENT

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1. In this case I allowed the appellant's appeal from a conviction in the Magistrate's Court of assault causing actual bodily harm in respect of which he was fined $100 and bound over, for reasons given orally. I now state those reasons.

2. In his findings and decision the learned Magistrate said:- "I did not consider that it could be held that the defendant was acting in self-defence ....". A direction in such terms to a jury would be plainly bad as indicating that the onus of establishing self-defence lay on the defence or as failing to indicate that any reasonable doubt whether the defendant was acting in self-defence must lead to an acquittal (see R. v. Chan Kau(1), correcting a misleading statement in former editions of Archbold; R. v. Lobell(2); and R. v. Wheeler(3)). I felt obliged to take the view that this equally applies to a Magistrate's decision.

3. On the evidence also, as it appeared to me, there was room for considerable doubt. The victim was admittedly struck on the back of the head with a hammer in the course of an altercation between him and the appellant. The appellant said in evidence that the victim attacked him with the hammer, that the victim was accompanied by two others, that he (the appellant) warded off the blow, the hammer fell to the ground and he (the appellant) then picked it up, threw it at the victim and his companions and ran away. The victim, in giving evidence, denied that he was armed with the hammer and denied also that he was accompanied by others. The learned Magistrate held that the assault took place while the two of them, the victim and the appellant, were alone and that the appellant 'picked up a hammer' and struck the victim with it. But the victim himself had said, in evidence, that he rushed out into the street, carrying the hammer, intent on 'teaching him (the appellant) a lesson' because the appellant had bullied his brother. As he said, he put the hammer down before struggling with the appellant, but the fact remains that this...

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