HKSAR V. CHAN HON WING (陳漢榮)

[2021] HKCFA 45 Court of Final Appeal 23 December 2021 • FACC8/2021 • 53 min read

24 cases cited (0 HK, 24 foreign)

Outcome

Appeal allowed

I would therefore allow the appeal and quash the appellant’s convictions on the three counts with which he was charged.

Source: [2021] HKCFA 45, Court of Final Appeal, decided 23 December 2021. Read directly from the judgment.

Judges (5)

Cheung Coram Fok Coram Lam Coram Lord Hodge Coram Ribeiro Coram

Counsel (6)

Department of Justice Firm ONC Lawyers Firm Andy Lo Counsel Respondent Eric T.M. Cheung of Onc Lawyers Counsel Appellant Jason Kung Counsel Appellant Ned Lai Counsel Respondent

Parties (2)

HKSAR Respondent Chan Hon Wing Appellant

Summary

Chan Hon Wing appealed against his conviction, raising questions about the trial judge's duty to ensure jurors understood proceedings in the language in which they were conducted. The Court of Final Appeal considered the proper approach to juror language proficiency under section 4(2) of the Jury Ordinance and the right to a fair trial. The appeal was allowed and a retrial was ordered.

Statutes Cited

Criminal Procedure Ordinance

s 79(1) s 83(1)

High Court Ordinance (Cap 4)

Jury Ordinance

s 4(2)

Cases Cited (24)

UK (5)

[1929] 2 KB 1 [1963] AC 859 [1989] QB 868 [2005] EWCA Crim 346 [2007] 1 WLR 2679

AU (1)

[2008] VSCA 144

HK (18)

(2000) 3 HKCFAR 168 (2016) 19 HKCFAR 679 (2018) 21 HKCFAR 284 (2020) 23 HKCFAR 1 [2002] 2 HKLRD 39 [2009] 1 HKLRD 284 [2018] HKCFA 31 [2019] 3 HKLRD 20 [2019] HKCA 537 [2019] HKCA 953 [2019] HKCFA 52 [2020] 2 HKLRD 720 [2020] HKCA 184 [2020] HKCA 86 [2020] HKCA 938 [2021] HKCA 195 [2021] HKCFA 21 [2021] HKCFA 37

Citation influence

HKLII records this judgment as cited by 1 later judgment. This counts every later Hong Kong judgment that references this case, which is broader than the resolved citations listed above.

[2025] HKCA 524 Court of Appeal

20 August 2025