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Contd.
1103, PRINCE'S BUILDING DES VOEUX ROAD
HONG KONG
11th
June,
19 74
(7)
evidence about seeing the accused actually beating the deceased "on the head and neck". They were persons who had gone round in company with the deceased and who admitted that they had seen the accused on two former occasions.
that the record shows that the learned judge made no enquiry as to whether the boy, Wu Chi Kin, understood the meaning of an oath as is required by Section 4 of the Evidence Ordinance Cap 8.
as
Of these seven points, the Full Court permitted counsel only to argue Point (2) which in my opinion loses at least some of its significance, without also arguing Points (1), (3) and (4). I, counsel, had intended in these points to read most of the evidence of Messrs. Au, Wu and the widow, Lui Wai Yee, as well as some of the supplementary evidence of police witnesses, whereas in the events that trans- pired, I was only able to read part of the forensic evidence of Dr. Yip.
I can only say that in my opinion the accused has not had a fair trial of his appeal, and the judges, by their attitude, almost dismissed the appeal unheard. I might add that by 12:10 p.m. they dismissed an appeal starting at 10 a.m. where almost the whole of the first hour was taken up by the two applications : (1) to adjourn and (2) for leave to amend the Notice of Appeal to add particulars of the
The court seven grounds of appeal listed above. adjourned at 11 o'clock to consider these applications. They came back about 10 minutes later with their decision. So the actual hearing of the appeal was at the most an hour and on this one point only. I might mention almost as a matter of course that whilst in theory the case was an application to the Full Court for leave to appeal, in practice for many years, the application has been treated as the appeal; if it is successful
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