R. v. LAM LAI WAH

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(Appellate Jurisdiction)

MAGISTRACY CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 583 OF 1995

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J U D G M E N T

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1. This is an appeal from Mr. Kelly. The charge against this lady was theft. It was a shop-lifting case where she had gone to Marks & Spencer in Landmark and taken a pair of lady's trousers. She put them on a counter which was unmanned and then put them inside a trolley type bag which is on wheels and walked out the store. She did not give evidence. A person has a right to remain silent. I can see no reason here why she should not have gone into the witness box and said it was all an accident and told the circumstances to the Magistrate. She called Mr. Singer, well-known in Hong Kong. He said that she suffered from some depression which may have caused her to be forgetful.

2. The Magistrate, if I may say so, approached this matter very fairly, he paid scrupulous attention to all of the evidence and came to the clear conclusion that the woman was acting deliberately, dishonestly in taking the pair of trousers. He has, in my judgment, approached the matter as I said very fairly. I can see no grounds for interfering with the findings he made. They were consistent with the evidence which he had before him. I can only interfere on a question of law, not on a question of fact. This appeal is dismissed.