HKSAR v. SIN KWOK CHEUNG

HCMA 1093/1999

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

MAGISTRACY APPEAL NO. 1093 OF 1999

(ON APPEAL FROM WSC 9255/1999)

____________

_______________

J U D G M E N T

_______________

1. The Appellant appeals against his conviction in respect of an offence of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm. The Appellant and the victim were colleagues who worked as security guards. An argument occurred in the course of which the Appellant was alleged to have hit the victim on the head with a torch, causing bleeding.

2. The matter went to trial, the Appellant was represented and the matter was argued fully before the Magistrate. It is now submitted that there were discrepancies in the evidence of the victim which were not resolved by the Magistrate. It was submitted too that the Magistrate did not give thought to whether or not the injury was caused deliberately by the Appellant, or whether it was the result of an accident. The third ground is that the Magistrate reversed the burden of proof.

3. Having considered all those matters, I am of the opinion that the Magistrate was correct in dealing with the matter as he did. His Statement of Findings is short. It was a simple case and it was really a question of credibility that he had to resolve. He resolved those discrepancies sufficiently for the purposes of the hearing. He did not reverse the burden of proof and implicit in his consideration was a finding as to whether or not this was an accidental, or deliberate, causing of an injury.

4. This appeal against conviction is dismissed.