23 Dec 2025法庭線#7726
反恐第二案｜無罪何培欣向終院申上訴許可 終院要求提出不應駁回原因
In the second case under the anti-terrorism legislation, five of the eight defendants, including Ho Pui-yan, were acquitted of all charges. After the verdict, Ho applied for costs, but High Court trial judge Chan Chung-hang said she had brought suspicion upon herself and dismissed the application. The judge also ruled that HK$163,000 and RMB400 found by police at Ho’s residence had been obtained by the defendants in the course of committing the offence and entrusted to Ho for safekeeping, and ordered the money forfeited.
Ho Pui-yan subsequently applied to the Court of Final Appeal for leave to appeal, reportedly in relation to the costs and the handling of the exhibits. On Tuesday (23rd), the Registrar of the Court of Final Appeal said there was no reasonably arguable point, and required the applicant to provide, by 20 January next year, reasons why the application should not be dismissed.
反恐條例第二案，8 名被告中有 5 人獲裁定全部罪名不成立，包括何培欣。何在裁決後申請訟費，原審高院法官陳仲衡指她自招嫌疑，駁回申請。官另裁斷，警方在何住所搜出的 16.3 萬元港幣及 400 元人民幣，是案中被告在犯案過程中取得，交由何保管，予以充公。
何培欣其後向終院申請上訴許可，據悉與訟費及證物處理有關。終院司法常務官周二（23 日）指案件沒有合理可供爭辯之處，限申請方在明年 1 月 20 日前，提出不應駁回其申請的原因。
16 Dec 2025法庭線#7696
採訪期間阻差罪成囚5天 陳朗昇提定罪及刑罰上訴 官容後頒判詞、陳續准保釋
Former Hong Kong Journalists Association chairperson Chan Long-sing was jailed for five days after being convicted of obstructing a police officer in the execution of duty. In September 2022, while covering a meeting of owners of Long Ping Estate in Yuen Long at MacPherson Stadium in Mong Kok as a reporter for Channel C, Chan was arrested after allegedly refusing to show his identity card to police officers. Chan appealed against both his conviction and sentence. The case was heard in the High Court on Tuesday (16th). Acting Judge Wong Sze-lai said judgment would be handed down later, and Chan could remain on bail in the meantime.
The appeal argued that, apart from the possibility of protests at the scene, and Chan having crossed the road diagonally, the police could not prove that Chan had objectively appeared suspicious at the time of the incident and therefore had no power to stop and search him. The respondent argued that the case should be considered in the broader circumstances, saying there could have been protests at the owners’ meeting and that, when Chan was stopped, a man carrying a black backpack was beside him and might have been heading to a protest. The police therefore had reasonable grounds to stop and search Chan. Regarding the appeal against sentence, the appellant hoped the court would consider replacing the sentence with a community service order. The respondent replied that Chan had shown no remorse and did not meet the requirements for such an order.
前記協主席陳朗昇 2022 年 9 月，以「Channel C」記者身分，赴旺角麥花臣場館採訪元朗朗屏邨業主大會時，被指拒向警員出示身份證被捕，經審訊後被裁定阻差辦公罪成，被判囚 5 天。陳不服定罪及刑罰提出上訴，案件周二（16 日）在高等法院聆訊。暫委法官王詩麗指，會容後下判詞決定，期間陳可繼續保釋。
上訴方認為，除案發時有機會有人示威、陳曾打斜過馬路，警員不能證明，陳案發時客觀地有可疑，警員沒權截查陳。答辯方則指要從大環境觀看案件，稱業主大會有機會有人示威，陳被截查時身旁有一名男子，孭黑色大背囊，有機會前往示威，警員是合理截查陳。另就刑罰上訴，上訴方希望法庭可以考慮改判社服令。答辯方則回應指，陳沒有悔意，不符合社服令要求。
10 Dec 2025法庭線#7673
反恐第二案｜無罪何培欣直接向終審法院申上訴許可 據悉涉訟費及證物處理
In the second case under the anti-terrorism legislation, five of the eight defendants, including Ho Pui-yan, were found not guilty of all charges. The latest information on the Court of Final Appeal’s website shows that she has directly applied to the CFA for leave to appeal. It is understood that the appeal concerns legal costs and the handling of exhibits, and that procedurally it must be dealt with directly by the CFA.
After the verdict, Ho Pui-yan’s side applied for legal costs. High Court trial judge Chan Chung-hang said she had brought suspicion upon herself and rejected her application. Police found HK$163,000 and RMB400 at Ho Pui-yan’s residence. The court ruled that the defendant had obtained the money in the course of committing the offence and had it placed in her custody, and ordered its forfeiture.
反恐條例第二案，8 名被告中有 5 人獲裁定全部罪名不成立，包括何培欣。終審法院網頁最新顯示，她已向終院直接申請上訴許可。據悉，有關上訴與訟費及證物處理相關，而程序上需直接循終院處理。
何培欣一方在裁決後申請訟費，原審高院法官陳仲衡指她自招嫌疑，駁回其申請。警方在何培欣住所搜出 16.3 萬元港幣及 400 元人民幣，官裁斷是被告在犯案過程中取得，交由她保管，予以充公。
5 Sept 2025法庭線#7265
香港獨立黨案被告認串謀煽動分裂囚5年 刑期上訴被駁回、申證明書上訴終院再被拒
The 41-year-old Portuguese man Wong Kin Chung, who was identified as the chairman of the Hong Kong Independence Party, was arrested when he entered Hong Kong in 2022. He admitted the offence of “conspiracy to incite others to commit secession” under the National Security Law and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. As the National Security Law provides for a minimum sentence, he was not granted the full reduction for his guilty plea. He subsequently applied for leave to appeal against his sentence, but the Court of Appeal dismissed the application in April this year. Wong Kin Chung then applied to the Court of Appeal for a certificate to seek leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal. In a judgment handed down on Friday (the 5th), the Court of Appeal dismissed the application.
The defendant disputed whether the National Security Law’s minimum-penalty provision applies to the conspiracy offence. The Court of Appeal held that the legislative intent of the National Security Law was for its sentencing mechanism to apply equally to conspiracy offences. It found that the appellant’s grounds had no reasonable prospect of argument and refused to issue a certificate.
The Court of Final Appeal’s website also shows that the defendant has directly applied to that court for leave to appeal. According to the Judiciary’s website, the case has not yet been scheduled for hearing.
被指為「香港獨立黨」主席的 41 歲葡籍男子黃煡聰，2022 年入境時被捕，他承認《國安法》下「串謀煽動他人實施分裂國家」罪，被判囚 5 年。因《國安法》刑期下限，他未獲全數認罪扣減，就此申請刑期上訴許可，今年 4 月被上訴庭駁回。黃煡聰之後再向上訴庭申證明書，以申請終院的上訴許可，上訴庭周五（5 日）頒下判詞，駁回申請。
黃爭議《國安法》中刑罰下限的規定，是否適用於串謀罪。上訴庭認為，《國安法》的立法用意，是其刑罰機制同樣適用於串謀罪，上訴人的理據毫無合理爭辯之處，拒絕發出證明書。
另據終審法院網頁顯示，黃亦已直接向終院申上訴許可，據司法機構網頁，案件暫未排期聆訊。
26 Jul 2025法庭線#7099
47人案上訴口頭陳詞整合 被告方及律政司爭議裁決結果、刑罰過重理據為何？
In the democratic primary election case, the Court of Appeal heard, over four consecutive days in mid-July, appeals by 12 convicted defendants against their convictions and/or sentences, as well as the Department of Justice’s appeal against the acquittal of Lawrence Wai Chung Lau. The judges said they would hand down their judgment within nine months, no later than mid-April 2026.
The Witness has summarised in bullet points the oral submissions concerning each defendant’s case, to make it easier for readers to understand the grounds on which the appellants argued that the trial judges had erred in their judgments, as well as the respondents’ replies. Some issues relied on written submissions and were not read out in court, and are therefore not covered.
In addition to the circumstances of the individual cases, the defendants and the Department of Justice also made submissions on legal disputes, including how “unlawful means” in the provisions on the offence of subversion should be interpreted, and the circumstances in which the court should intervene in the exercise of powers by the legislature. See the reports on the first and second days of the hearing for details.
民主派初選案，上訴庭 7 月中一連四天處理罪成的 12 人就定罪及或刑罰提出上訴，以及律政司就劉偉聰無罪裁決提上訴的聆訊，法官指將在 9 個月內，即不遲於 2026 年 4 月中頒布判決。
《法庭線》以列點形式整理各被告案情相關的口頭陳詞，讓讀者容易理解上訴方指出原審法官判決錯誤的理據，以及答辯方的回應。部分議題因依賴書面陳詞，庭上未有讀出，故未有涵蓋。
除了個人案情，被告方與律政司亦分別就法律爭議陳詞，例如提出「顛覆罪」條文的「非法手段」應如何詮釋，以及法庭應在何種情況下才介入立法機關行使權力的事宜等，詳見聆訊第一日、第二日的報道。
22 Jul 2025法庭線#7074
被指擺擴音器播訴求 罪成判罰款 大坑西邨居民提上訴否認擺放
In June last year, a Tai Hang Sai Estate resident in his sixties was alleged to have placed a loudspeaker in a staircase in the estate to broadcast residents’ grievances and demands over the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate. He was summonsed on one charge of “noise nuisance caused by a loudspeaker”, convicted after trial and fined HK$1,500.
The resident, who disputes the conviction, appealed. The appeal was heard in the High Court on Tuesday (22). Representing himself, he said the loudspeaker had been bought with money pooled by residents, and that he was only the contact person and owner. He alleged that the trial court had confused the person who placed the loudspeaker with its owner. He denied placing it there, saying: “It was 100 per cent not me who put it there, and I did not create the noise.” The judge adjourned the decision.
去年 6 月，六旬大坑西邨居民被指在邨內梯間擺放擴音器，播放居民對重建大坑西邨的不滿及訴求，被票控一項「擴音器造成的噪音煩擾」罪，經審訊後被裁定罪成，罰款 1,500 元。
居民不服定罪提上訴，周二（22 日）在高等法院審理。他親自陳詞指，擴音器是由街坊「夾錢」購買，他僅是聯絡人、擁有者，質疑原審混淆擺放者及擁有者。他否認擺放擴音器，「百分百唔係我擺喺度，唔係我製造噪音」。法官押後裁決。
17 Jul 2025法庭線#7054
47人案上訴｜被告方爭議刑罰分級、量刑起點過高、總刑期毀滅性 官9個月內頒判詞
The fourth day of the appeal hearing in the democrats’ primary election case began on Thursday (the 17th), with both sides completing their submissions on the sentencing appeals. Chief High Court Judge Poon Siu-chu said the judgment would be handed down within nine months. Chan Tsz-kit, who was released from prison earlier, attended the hearing. At the end of the hearing, Leung Kwok-hung and Lam Cheuk-ting waved to those in the public gallery, while Yeung Suet-ying smiled broadly.
The defence challenged the sentencing tiers and the starting points, which it said were too high, arguing that Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting and Wong Pik-wan should not have been classified as “active participants”. In particular, counsel Erik Ignatius Sze Man Shum argued forcefully that Lam and Wong had not publicly supported the plotting and had “remained almost silent”. The seven-year starting points imposed on them effectively treated their roles as equivalent to those of more radical defendants in the same case, which was an error by the trial court.
The defence also challenged the mitigating factors, arguing that Chan Chi-chuen and Ho Kai-ming, who had held public office for many years, should have received greater reductions. Cheng Tat-hung’s side said his starting point should differ from that of fellow Civic Party member Jeremy Tam Man-ho. Chow Ka-shing and Prince Wong Ji-yuet were also involved in a separate riot case; their counsel said that the trial court’s ordering of the sentences to be served consecutively was a heavy blow and devastating for the two men.
民主派初選案周四（17 日）展開第四日上訴聆訊，雙方完成刑罰上訴陳詞。高院首席法官潘兆初稱將在 9 個月內頒下判決。早前出獄的岑子杰到庭旁聽；散庭時，梁國雄、林卓廷向旁聽揮手，楊雪盈則露齒笑。
被告方爭議刑罰分級、量刑起點過高，指梁國雄、林卓廷、黃碧雲不應被裁定為「積極參加者」，其中，大狀沈士文力陳，林、黃沒有公開支持謀劃、「幾乎保持沉默」，兩人面對的 7 年量刑起點，有如指他們的角色等同同案更激進的被告，原審實屬錯誤。
被告方又爭議減刑因素，如陳志全、何啟明任公職多年，應獲更多減刑；鄭達鴻一方指，其量刑起點應與同屬公民黨的譚文豪有別；鄒家成、黃子悅另涉暴動案，代表大狀指原審分期執行判刑，對兩人是沉重打擊、毀滅性。
16 Jul 2025法庭線#7051
47人案上訴｜鄒家成、余慧明指原審過度干預 黃碧雲、林卓廷指錯誤套用胡志偉言論
The third day of the appeal hearing in the democratic primary case began on Wednesday (the 16th), with the defence completing its submissions on the appeals against conviction. The legal teams for Helena Wong and Lam Cheuk-ting said the trial court had wrongly relied on remarks made by then Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai at a Kowloon East forum to rule that Wong and Lam knew of the party’s position on vetoing and agreed to participate in planning. They also said there was no evidence that the Democratic Party had a unified position on vetoing.
Counsel for Owen Chow and Yu Wai-ming respectively cited examples to argue that trial judge Andrew Hing Wai Chan had intervened excessively while the two gave evidence. These included publicly commenting that Chow’s testimony “had no logic” and preventing defence counsel and another judge, Chan Chung-hang, from asking Yu questions, leaving her unable to explain her views on the “five demands”. Their representatives said the defendants had the right to a fair trial.
Ho Kwai-lam’s legal team said Legislative Council members had a duty to convey public opinion to the government and had also been given a mandate by the public. It asked rhetorically how a lawmaker’s conveying citizens’ legitimate demands could constitute subversion of state power. The Department of Justice made oral rebuttals to the submissions of the four defendants’ legal teams. The case will continue on Thursday, when the defence will continue making submissions on the appeals against sentence.
民主派初選案周三（16 日）展開第三日上訴聆訊，被告方已完成定罪上訴的陳詞。黃碧雲、林卓廷一方指，原審錯誤引用民主黨時任主席胡志偉在九東論壇的發言，裁斷黃碧雲、林卓廷對黨的否決立場知情，同意參與謀劃，又指沒證據顯示民主黨對否決有一致立場。
鄒家成、余慧明的代表大狀分別舉例指出，原審法官陳慶偉在兩人作供時過度干預，包括公開評論鄒的供詞「沒有邏輯」，亦阻止辯方大狀及另一法官陳仲衡擬對余提問，令她無法解釋對「五大訴求」看法。兩人代表指，被告有權獲得公平審訊。
何桂藍一方則稱，立會議員有責任向政府反映民意，亦獲民意授權，反問議員反映市民的正當訴求，何以構成顛覆政權？律政司一方則就 4 名被告方的陳詞，作口頭反駁。案件周四續，由被告方續就刑罰上訴陳詞。
15 Jul 2025法庭線#7045
721白衣人案｜英龍圍暴動等罪成 鄧嘉民提上訴 上訴庭10月中處理
The Yuen Long 721 incident will soon reach its sixth anniversary. Tang Ka-man, a “white-clad man” who was convicted after trial of rioting and other charges and sentenced to 4 years and 1 month in prison, has appealed against his conviction. The Judiciary’s website shows that the Court of Appeal will deal with his application for leave to appeal on 15 October. The hearing is expected to last 150 minutes, while the judges handling it have yet to be announced.
According to statistics compiled by The Witness, all six court cases arising from the 721 incident have concluded, with 21 people convicted in total. Thirteen were white-clad men, who were sentenced to between 3½ and 7 years in prison; eight were not white-clad men, and were sentenced to between 2 years and 1 month and 3 years and 1 month. Among them, former Legislative Council member Lam Cheuk-ting and white-clad man Stanley Ying Kit Wong had the same sentencing starting point of 3½ years.
元朗 721 事件快將六周年。經審訊後被裁定暴動等罪成、判囚 4 年 1 個月的「白衣人」鄧嘉民，不服定罪提出上訴。司法機構網頁顯示，上訴庭將在 10 月 15 日，處理他的上訴許可申請，料需時 150 分鐘，負責的法官有待公布。
據《法庭線》統計，721 事件的 6 宗法庭案件已全數審結，共 21 人罪成。白衣人佔 13 人，被判囚 3 年半至 7 年；非白衣人佔 8 人，被判囚 2 年 1 個月至 3 年 1 個月。當中，前立法會議員林卓廷與白衣人黃英傑的量刑起點同為 3 年半。
15 Jul 2025法庭線#7046
47人案上訴｜王百羽、陳寶瑩到庭 警方劃採訪區、稱不方便讓記者「行嚟行去」
In the pro-democracy primary election 47-person case, 13 convicted defendants have appealed against their convictions and sentences; the Department of Justice has also appealed against the acquittal of Lawrence Wai Chung Lau. The appeal hearing continued at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday morning (15th). At 7:30am, about 50 people were already outside the court queueing for public gallery seats.
One spectator said they had previously volunteered for the League of Social Democrats and helped Lam Cheuk-ting’s election campaign, and hoped to show their support. Another spectator said they had voted in the primary, adding that if the defendants’ participation in the election was illegal, “we would also be accomplices, having authorised them to stand for election.” When reporters interviewed people in the queue, police required them to conduct the interviews in a media area marked off with orange tape and metal barriers. Reporters who subsequently entered the queue were also taken aside by police for a search of their belongings.
民主派初選 47 人案，13 名罪成被告提出定罪及刑罰上訴；在原審獲裁定無罪的劉偉聰，律政司亦提出上訴。上訴聆訊周二（15 日）早上在西九龍裁判法院續審，早上 7 時半，法院外已有約 50 人，排隊輪候公眾席。
有旁聽市民指自己曾為社民連義工，亦曾為林卓廷助選，希望可表達支持。亦有旁聽者直言自己有在初選投票，認為若被告參選違法，「我哋都係共犯、有份授權佢哋選。」記者採訪排隊人士時，被警員要求在警方以橙帶、鐵馬劃分的記者區，才可進行訪問。之後記者進入輪候隊伍，亦被警方帶到一旁搜查隨身物品。
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
