BETWEEN
ANNEX
B
TO XCR(75) 131
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG
(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)
CRIHINAL APPEAL NO. 552 OF 1974
1
WONG Wai-yin
2. IU Kam-wing
3. LI Tung-yau
4. CHUI Pak-sang
5. WONG Yuk-Ching 6. TSUI Kwok-kin
7. LI Tung
and
The Queen
Coram: Huggins, c ullin and Pickering, JJ.
Huggins, J.:
JUDGMENT
Appellants
Respondent
The seven Appellants were jointly indicted upon an indictment which contained two counts. The first count, against all except the fourth. Appellant. charged them with murder and the second count, against all of them, was of affray. The first, third fourth, sixth and seventh Appellants appeal against their convictions (the first Appellant having been given leave to apply out of time) and the first, second, fifth and seventh appeal against their sentences on the charge of affray.
The first third and fourth raise an issue and the only issue in their cases that the learned judge admitted in evidence confessional statements made by ther which, they say, were not voluntary. We have heard arguments by two counsel on their behalf, Mr. Wong on behalf of the first and the fourth and Ir. Sedgwick on behalf of the third. The substance of the complaint in respect of the third Appellant and br. Wong argues along much the same lines is that the statement itself is indicative of an involuntary statement. Our attention is drawn to the fact that it was made within a period of only three-quarters of an hour. It was written in Chinese and is two and a half pages in length and it is suggested that it is unlikely that such a statement could have been made in such a time. This, we think, is a matter which was very much for the jury to decide. Sometimes a statement can be taken in a short time if the writer is fluent, and sometimes it takes an inordinate length of time,