Hearing-impaired student acquitted at retrial over alleged assault on police; awarded partial costs
聽障男生被指襲警重審判無罪 獲批部分訟費
In September 2019, a 19-year-old hearing-impaired student was accused of assaulting a police officer in Causeway Bay. He was convicted after trial and sentenced to a rehabilitation centre. The student appealed against the decision. A High Court judge said the defendant had severe hearing impairment and had not received a fair trial at the original hearing, allowed the appeal and ordered a retrial. At the retrial in May 2023, Magistrate Daniel Siu Hung Tang found the defendant not guilty. The case returned to Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday (the 3rd) to deal with costs. Daniel Siu Hung Tang said the costs in the case could be divided into three parts: the defence’s challenge that the prosecution was brought out of time, the defence’s application for a permanent stay of proceedings, and the trial proper. After considering submissions from both sides, he approved costs for the defence in relation to the prosecution time limit and the trial proper. He also said the costs in the case exceeded the jurisdiction of the Magistrates’ Court, and that any dispute over the amount would be referred to a taxing master for determination.
2019 年 9 月，19 歲聽障男生被指在銅鑼灣襲警，經審訊後被裁定罪成，判入更生中心。男生不服裁決提上訴，高院法官指被告嚴重聽障，原審未獲得公平審訊，裁定上訴得直，下令發還重審。裁判官鄧少雄於 2023 年 5 月重審時，裁定被告罪名不成立。 案件周二（3 日）在觀塘裁判法院再訊，處理訟費事宜。鄧少雄指，本案訟費可分為三部分：辯方爭議檢控已過期限、辯方申請永久終止聆訊以及正審。他考慮雙方陳詞後，批准辯方就檢控期限及正審獲得訟費，又指本案訟費已超出裁判法院權限，如有金額爭議，會交由訟費聆案官裁決。