HKSAR v. CHAN HING PONG

HCMA 234/2003

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

MAGISTRACY APPEAL NO. 234 OF 2003

(ON APPEAL FROM NKCC 195/2003)

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J U D G M E N T

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1. I am going to confirm the order that the Magistrate made. And let me just explain to you why.

2. You committed the offence of indecency in a public place. In a word, you were masturbating in public. It is conduct which is unusual and often associated with some sort of mental illness. And, accordingly, when you pleaded guilty, the Magistrate called for reports and those reports were from a probation officer, two psychiatrists and a psychologist. They were people primarily concerned with your welfare, rather than punishing you. They all shared the view that you needed immediate and urgent psychiatric help in a hospital. The reports reveal that your mother endorsed that view. So, all those people with your interests at heart believe that it is the right order to make.

3. Today you argue very nicely before me that you are normal and that there is nothing wrong with you mentally. However, it is the sad fact that the reports tell me that one of the symptoms of your mental illness is that you have absolutely no insight or awareness of it. You do not know it exists. You cannot appreciate it. That is why you feel aggrieved. That is why you have come to appeal before me. I do not hope to convince you that the doctors and your mother are all right. But if you look at it from my point of view, the evidence is overwhelming and all one way, and that is why, in my judgment, the hospital order for 3 months that was made is the right order.

4. It is worthy of note just to mention this, that the diagnosis that was made at the time could not quite distinguish whether your condition came about because of your long-term abuse of cough mixture, or your schizophrenia, or a combination of both. But the fact is, for over 10 years now, you have been addicted to cough mixture, drinking several bottles a day. In fact, it was up to five bottles a day before your last admission.

5. Finally, the hospital order was justified on two grounds, mandatory detoxification and immediate psychiatric treatment. I hope the order is successful and that when you are released on 20 May there will be no reoccurrence of this. But for the reasons I have given, I cannot let you go now.