26 Aug 2023法庭線#8267
October 6 Wan Chai clashes | Seven convicted of rioting; three youths sent to training centre and four adults jailed for 50 to 51 months
2019 年 10 月 6 日，《禁蒙面法》生效翌日，灣仔一帶爆發衝突，多人被控暴動等罪。其中一宗涉 9 人的案件，案發時 16 歲少女開審前認罪，餘下 8 人不認罪受審；7 人被裁定罪成，1 人無罪。
區院暫委法官梁嘉琪周六（26 日）判當中 3 名未成年被告入教導所，另外 4 人監禁 50 至 51 個月。法官指，案發於公共秩序嚴重失序期間，暴動歷時 42 分鐘，期間有人駕駛鑽地車破壞馬路、投擲汽油彈，而本案檢控基礎為互相鼓勵及支持在場示威者。
至於辯方指，其中一名被告案發時目睹有女救護員被警方揮棍襲擊，故上前擁著救護員，令自己一同被襲及被捕，可見其良好品格；惟法官認為，未能證明其良好品格。
On October 6, 2019, the day after the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation took effect, clashes broke out in Wan Chai and several people were charged with rioting and other offences. In one case involving nine defendants, a 16-year-old girl pleaded guilty before trial, while the remaining eight pleaded not guilty and stood trial; seven were convicted and one was acquitted.
District Court acting judge LEUNG Ka-kie sentenced three of the juvenile defendants to detention in a training centre on Saturday (the 26th), while four others were jailed for 50 to 51 months. The judge said the riot took place during a period of serious public-order disruption and lasted 42 minutes, during which people used a drilling vehicle to damage the road and threw petrol bombs. The prosecution’s case was based on the defendants mutually encouraging and supporting demonstrators at the scene.
The defence said that one defendant had witnessed a female paramedic being attacked by police wielding batons and had therefore stepped forward to embrace the paramedic, causing himself to be attacked and arrested as well, which showed his good character. The judge, however, found that his good character had not been established.
25 Aug 2023法庭線#8258
Solicitor Tze Chin Chan’s “vigilante beating” case: Appeal Court increases three men’s sentences by 18 to 27 months, criticising trial court for overlooking seriousness
2020 年 5 月 24 日銅鑼灣「反惡歌法大遊行」，事務律師陳子遷涉制止示威者破壞店舖時遭「私了」。3 男承認暴動、傷人等罪，判囚 19 至 34 個月。律政司不滿刑期過輕提出覆核，上訴庭早前改判囚 37 至 61 個月，周五（25 日）頒下判詞。
判詞指，事主孤身一人遭多名示威者襲擊，原審沒考慮本案屬「私了」，量刑時忽略襲擊持續性及案件整體嚴重性。
就答辯方指，答辯人受到「挑釁」才犯案，法官認為「示威者進行違法行為時，受到市民譴責，有關譴責便構成『挑釁』的話，這明顯是強詞奪理，顛倒是非曲直」。
During a 24 May 2020 Causeway Bay march against the “evil song law”, solicitor Tze Chin Chan was assaulted after allegedly trying to stop protesters from vandalising shops. Three men pleaded guilty to rioting, assault and other offences and were sentenced to 19 to 34 months in prison. The Department of Justice, dissatisfied that the sentences were too lenient, sought a review. The Court of Appeal earlier increased the sentences to 37 to 61 months, and handed down its reasons on Friday (25th).
24 Aug 2023法庭線#8247
Fanling Golf Course Judicial Review: Golf Club’s Application to Stay EIA Process Granted
政府計劃 2023 年 9 月收回粉嶺高球場部分用地建屋，香港哥爾夫球會於 7 月入稟高等法院，就粉嶺高爾夫球場用地發展的環評報告，入稟提出司法覆核，要求法庭推翻環保署批准報告的決定。高等法院上周開庭，處理暫緩執行環評程序的申請，法官高浩文周四（24 日）頒下判詞，批准暫緩執行申請，直至司法覆核有結果，期間不會阻礙土木工程拓展署的檢視工作。
The Government plans to take back part of the Fanling Golf Course site in September 2023 to build housing. In July, the Hong Kong Golf Club filed an application for judicial review with the High Court concerning the environmental impact assessment report for the development of the Fanling Golf Course site, seeking to overturn the Environmental Protection Department’s decision to approve the report. The High Court heard the application to stay the EIA process last week. In a judgment handed down on Thursday (24th), Mr Justice Godfrey Lam granted the application to stay the process until the judicial review is concluded. During this period, the stay will not hinder the Civil Engineering and Development Department’s review work.
24 Aug 2023法庭線#8248
38-year-old man jailed 6 months for inciting harm to police officer after July 1 stabbing case; wrote on LIHKG that “knife-wielding technique must be precise”
2021 年銅鑼灣「七一刺警案」後，兩男一女被捕，被指在網上發表煽惑傷害警員言論。其中 38 歲男技術員早前承認一項「煽惑他人有意圖而導致他人身體受嚴重傷害」罪。暫委法官王證瑜周四（24 日）在區域法院判被告監禁 6 個月。
法官判刑時指，本案嚴重性較同類案件低，被告沒有令帖文置頂，獲得較少反應，留言內容亦較少。至於辯方指，被告候訊兩年間承受沉重壓力，法官認為本案候訊時間並非減刑因素，當中約 7.5 個月是因應辯方需要而押後，餘下程序需時約 1.5 年，並非過長。認罪扣減後，判囚 6 個月。
After the 2021 Causeway Bay July 1 police stabbing case, two men and one woman were arrested over alleged online remarks inciting harm to police officers. A 38-year-old technician earlier pleaded guilty to one count of “inciting another person to intentionally cause grievous bodily harm to another person”. Acting Judge Edward Ching Yu Wong sentenced the defendant to six months’ imprisonment at the District Court on Thursday (24th).
24 Aug 2023法庭線#8250
Moroccan man convicted of insulting regional flag but acquitted of insulting national flag after alleged flag removal; court says he may simply have been drunk
2022 年十一國慶翌日凌晨，36 歲摩洛哥籍男子涉於北角拆下逾 20 支國旗、區旗，再拋出馬路，事後被控侮辱國旗和區旗共 2 罪。他早前否認控罪，經審訊後周四（24 日）在觀塘法院裁決。
署理主任裁判官鄧少雄指，被告案發時揮動雙手和對著空氣大叫，無法排除他喝醉酒，亦無證據顯示他欲表達立場或意見，故裁定侮辱國旗罪不成立。至於侮辱區旗罪，裁判官指條例訂明，醉酒並非辯護理由，遂裁定此罪罪成。案件押後至 9 月 14 日判刑，以索取感化及社會服務令報告，期間被告獲准保釋。
裁判官坦言，本案背景頗為特殊，故監禁式刑罰並非唯一處理手法。
In the early hours of the day after National Day on 1 October 2022, a 36-year-old Moroccan man allegedly removed more than 20 national and regional flags in North Point and threw them onto the road. He was subsequently charged with two offences of insulting the national flag and the regional flag. He had earlier denied the charges and was found guilty after trial at Kwun Tong Court on Thursday (24th). Acting Chief Magistrate Daniel Siu Hung Tang said the defendant had waved both hands and shouted at the air at the time of the incident, and that it could not be ruled out that he had been drunk. There was also no evidence that he intended to express a stance or opinion, so he was acquitted of insulting the national flag. On the charge of insulting the regional flag, the magistrate said the ordinance provides that intoxication is not a defence, and found him guilty. The case was adjourned until 14 September for sentencing and to obtain probation and community service order reports. The defendant was granted bail in the meantime. The magistrate acknowledged that the circumstances of the case were unusual, and that imprisonment was therefore not the only way of dealing with it.
24 Aug 2023獨媒#8251
Kau Ka-shing Says Tsuen Wan Care Team Has Contacted More Than 3,500 People, Including Middle-Class Elderly
高等法院早前批出《願榮光歸香港》禁制令案件的上訴許可，司法機構網頁顯示案件9月13日將在高院再進行指示聆訊。人稱「長洲覆核王」的郭卓堅上周表示擬就禁制令案提出司法覆核，惟今日突告取消，他向《獨媒》表示「政治唔舒服」，稱近日有人提醒他要顧及港府「管治尊嚴」，令他感到壓力最終放棄入稟。《獨媒》問郭卓堅有否曾被國安處人員接觸，他表示「唔可以講」。
The High Court earlier granted leave to appeal in the case concerning an injunction against “Glory to Hong Kong”. The Judiciary’s website shows that a directions hearing in the case will be held again at the High Court on September 13. Kwok Cheuk-kin, known as the “Cheung Chau Judicial Review King”, said last week that he planned to seek a judicial review over the injunction, but suddenly announced today that he had cancelled it. He told The Independent that it was “politically uncomfortable”, saying that someone had recently reminded him to take into account the Hong Kong government’s “dignity of governance”, leaving him feeling pressured and ultimately abandoning the filing. Asked by The Independent whether he had ever been contacted by National Security Department officers, Kwok said, “I can’t say.”
23 Aug 2023法庭線#8239
“Glory to Hong Kong” injunction case | Judge grants Department of Justice leave to appeal but rejects chilling-effect ground
律政司就《願榮光歸香港》申請禁制令案，禁止公眾播放或彈奏歌曲《願榮光》，高等法院法官陳健強於 7 月 28 日頒下判詞，拒絕批出臨時禁制令。律政司就判決提出上訴，法官陳健強周三（23 日）批出上訴許可。
判詞指，律政司 19 頁「草擬上訴理由書」，提出 7 項理據，「原審決定幾乎沒有一部分是不被挑戰」，又認為律政司司長是尋求重新爭辯原審時提出的理據，但基於國家安全的重要性，亦牽涉法律「新領域」，就大部分理據批出上訴許可。不過，對於律政司指原審錯誤裁定「禁令或引發寒蟬效應」，法官明言「無法同意」，認為法庭須考慮禁令可能產生的影響，故就此點拒絕批出許可。
In the Department of Justice’s application for an injunction over “Glory to Hong Kong”, which sought to prohibit the public from playing or performing the song, High Court judge Anthony Kin Keung Chan handed down a judgment on July 28 refusing to grant an interim injunction. The Department of Justice appealed against the judgment, and judge Anthony Kin Keung Chan granted leave to appeal on Wednesday (23rd).
23 Aug 2023法庭線#8246
12 Hong Kong people | Tang Kai-yin appears in District Court over alleged handling of petrol bombs, remanded until Nov 2
2020 年 8 月，12 名港人涉嫌潛逃到台灣，途中被廣東海警截獲拘留，當中 10 人在內地被控組織他人偷越邊境罪等罪，判囚 7 個月至 3 年。當中刑罰最重、因「組織他人偷越邊境」罪判囚 3 年的鄧棨然，內地刑滿出獄，周二（22 日）移交香港警方，周三就 2019 年被指管汽油彈案，在區域法院提訊。
辯方申請押後案件，指鄧早前申請法援被撤銷，需時再申請，獲法官高勁修批准。法官另關注，案件早前在鄧缺席下曾修改控罪，控方指會以最新控罪書為準。鄧棨然沒保釋申請，還押至 11 月 2 日再訊。
In August 2020, 12 Hong Kong people were suspected of attempting to flee to Taiwan but were intercepted and detained by the Guangdong maritime police. Ten of them were charged in mainland China with offences including organising others to illegally cross the border, and were sentenced to between seven months and three years in prison. Tang Kai-yin, who received the longest sentence of three years for organising others to illegally cross the border, completed his sentence in mainland China and was handed over to Hong Kong police on Tuesday (22nd). On Wednesday, he appeared in the District Court in connection with a 2019 case in which he was accused of handling petrol bombs.
The defence applied for an adjournment, saying that Tang’s legal-aid application had earlier been revoked and that he needed time to reapply. Judge Ko King-sau approved the application. The judge also raised concern that the charges had previously been amended in Tang’s absence; the prosecution said the latest charge sheet would be used. Tang did not apply for bail and was remanded until November 2 for a further hearing.
22 Aug 2023獨媒#8235
Young Man’s Judicial Review Bid Over Repeated Police ID Checks Rejected; Judge Says Averted Gaze and Clenched Right Hand Were Suspicious
一名20歲青年稱在去年11月及今年1月，共3次遭到警員懷疑藏毒，被截查並要求出示身份證。他去年入稟高院申請司法覆核，質疑警方截查權違憲，《警隊條例》對「行為可疑」一詞的定義亦太過空泛，侵害《基本法》賦予的人權。法官高浩文今午頒判詞拒絕批出司法覆核許可，認為截查要求出示身份證是「簡單要求」，只會阻礙行程1至2分鐘，滿足警方認為「行為可疑」的門檻不高。另外法官認為青年當時眼神迴避、緊握右手，已構成足夠的懷疑門檻。
A 20-year-old man said he was stopped and asked to produce his identity card three times in total in November last year and January this year after police officers suspected that he was concealing drugs. He filed an application for judicial review in the High Court last year, challenging the constitutionality of police stop-and-search powers and arguing that the definition of “suspicious behaviour” in the Police Force Ordinance was too vague and infringed human rights guaranteed by the Basic Law. In a judgment handed down this afternoon, Judge Gou Hou-man refused leave to apply for judicial review, saying that requiring someone to produce an identity card was a “simple request” that would obstruct their journey for only one to two minutes, and that the threshold for police to consider someone’s behaviour suspicious was not high. The judge also found that the young man’s averted gaze and clenched right hand at the time constituted a sufficient threshold for suspicion.
18 Aug 2023法庭線#8209
7.21 Yuen Long | Cheng Wai-ming jailed for 4 years and 3 months for rioting and conspiracy to wound; leave to appeal refused, says “I felt the government told us to do it”
元朗 7.21 襲擊事發至今逾 4 年，共 10 名「白衣人」被控。當中 64 歲男子程偉明被指以拳頭及藤條襲擊市民，經審訊後，被裁定暴動及串謀傷人兩罪罪成，判監禁 4 年 3 個月。程偉明不服定罪和刑罰，周五（18 日）在高等法院處理上訴許可申請。
程偉明在原審時爭議非呈堂片段中人，他周五自行陳詞時改稱「毋須爭議，（呈堂片段）嗰個係我嚟」，又稱「因為我覺得就係政府叫我哋去做㗎啫，就係咁簡單」。上訴庭法官彭寶琴聞言打斷，「我一定要停止你啦，呢個唔係審訊，唔容許你表述個人睇法、觀感」，終拒絕其申請。
法官在判詞指，原審對證物已作深入分析，其裁定無可詬病、公允持平，所作的推論亦合情合理，沒有申請人所謂的不公，判刑亦沒有任何不恰當之處。
More than four years after the 7.21 Yuen Long attack, a total of 10 “white-clad men” have been charged. Cheng Wai-ming, 64, was accused of assaulting members of the public with his fists and a rattan cane. He was convicted after trial of rioting and conspiracy to wound, and sentenced to four years and three months’ imprisonment. Dissatisfied with his conviction and sentence, Cheng appeared at the High Court on Friday (18th) to apply for leave to appeal.
At his trial, Cheng disputed that he was the person shown in footage that was not admitted into evidence. Representing himself on Friday, he instead said, “There’s no need to dispute it—the person in the footage is me,” and added, “Because I felt it was the government telling us to do it—that simple.” Appeal judge Pang Po-kam interrupted him, saying, “I have to stop you. This is not a trial; I will not allow you to express your personal views or perceptions,” and ultimately refused his application.
In her written judgment, the judge said the trial court had conducted an in-depth analysis of the evidence. Its findings were beyond reproach, fair and impartial, and its inferences were reasonable and in line with common sense. There was no unfairness of the kind alleged by the applicant, and nothing inappropriate about the sentence.
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
