114
Amendment
of section II
of the principal Ordinance.
Addition of
new sections
TIA-IIF,
THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE.
(a) when a person is accused of more offences tha one of the same or a similar character he may, subject to the provisions of section 20, be charged with and tried at the same time with any number of them not exceeding three, whether they are offences committed with respect to the same person or not: Provided that if the Magistrate is of opinion that a person accused will be prejudiced or embarrassed in his defence, he may order a separate trial of any such charge or charges;
(b) if in one series of acts so connected together as to form the same transaction, more offences than one are committed by the same person, he may be charged with and tried at the same time for every such offence; and
(c) if a single act or series of acts is of such a nature that it is doubtful which of several offences the facts which can be proved will constitute, the accused person may be charged with having committed all or any of such offences and any number of such charges may be tried at once; or he may be charged in the alternative with having committed some one of the said offences."
7. Section 11 of the principal Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting the symbols and number "(1)" in sub-section (1) thereof and by deleting sub-section (2).
8. The following sections shall be inserted immediately after section 11:-
''Prosecution
of offences to be under control of
Attorney General.
Appointment of public prosecutors
by Attorney General.
Private prosecution and inter- vention by the Attorney General,
11A. The Attorney General is hereby entrusted with the duty and discretion of conducting the prosecution of all offences cognizable by a magistrate: Provided that it shall be lawful for any member of the Hong Kong Police Force and such other public servant as the Attorney General may from time to time by any general or special direction authorise to lay before a magistrate an infor- mation in respect of an offence and that any such infor- mation shall be deemed to have been laid on behalf of the Attorney General and provided that in any such case he shall be deemed to be a party to the proceedings and such member or public servant shall not be so deemed.
11B. The Attorney General may appoint any public officer or class of public officers to act as public prosecutor or prosecutors and to conduct generally on his behalf any prosecution before a magistrate or any specified classes of prosecutions or any particular case. Any public prosecutor so appointed may without any written autho rity appear and plead before a magistrate any case of which he has charge which is being inquired into, tried or reviewed.
110. (1) A complainant or informant who is not acting or deemed to act on behalf of the Attorney General may if he so wishes and without any prior leave conduct in person or by counsel on his behalf the prosecution of the offence to which the complaint or information relates
191
Power for public prosecutor
to withdraw
case.
Rights of parties to conduct case personally
or by counsel,
SUPPLEMENT NO. 1, MAY 20, 1949.
but the Attorney General may at any stage of the pro- ceedings before the magistrate intervene and assume the conduct of the proceedings and may within the time limited by section 99 for applying for a review intervene for the purpose of applying for or being made a party to any review.
(2) As from the date of any such intervention the Attorney General shall be deemed to be a party to the proceedings or the review in lieu of such complainant or informant.
(8) Such intervention may be effected by oral intimation given to the magistrate by a public prosecutor acting under the instructions of the Attorney General or by notice in writing under the hand of the Attorney General of his intervention lodged with the magistrate's clerk. In the event of oral intimation as aforesaid having been given the Attorney General shall as soon as con- veniently may be cause notice in writing of his intention to be lodged as aforesaid.
11. (1) In any case before a magistrate in which a defendant is being tried for any offence and at any stage thereof before judgment and in any case in which an inquiry is being held by a magistrate for the purpose of determining whether an accused should be committed for trial, the Attorney General may enter a nolle prosequi by informing the magistrate in writing that the Crown intends that the proceedings shall not continue, and thereupon the accused shall be at once discharged in respect of the charge for which the nolle prosequi is entered, and if he has been committed to prison shall be released, or if on bail his recognizances shall be discharged; but such discharge of an accused person shall not operate as a bar to any subsequent proceedings against him on account of the same facts.
(2) If the accused shall not be before the magistrate when such nolle prosequi is entered the magis- trate's clerk shall forthwith cause notice in writing of the entry of such nolle prosequi to be given to the keeper of the prison in which such accused may be detained.
11E. (1) The party against whom the complaint is made or information laid shall be admitted to make his full answer and defence thereto and to have the witnesses examined and cross-examined by him or by counsel on his behalf.
(2) Without prejudice to the rights of the Attorney General every complainant or informant shall be at liberty to conduct the complaint or information respectively and to have the witnesses examined and cross-examined by him or by counsel on his behalf.
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