Government welcomes CFA judgment on appeal of unauthorised assembly case
The Court of Final Appeal (CFA) today (August 12) unanimously dismissed the appeals of seven appellants including Lai Chee-ying arising out of their knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly on August 18, 2019. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government welcomes the CFA's judgment.
The CFA reiterated that the defendants' applications for leave to appeal on the ground of challenging the trial Judge's factual findings had been refused. The court also stated in its judgment that the appellants' constitutional challenges against section 17A(3)(a) of the Public Order Ordinance (Cap. 245) had failed, and they had not raised any constitutional challenge against the Commissioner of Police's decision to ban the march, and that was not to suggest that such a challenge would have succeeded as there were compelling reasons to accept that the Commissioner of Police's decision had been constitutionally sound and proportionate.
The CFA has explained and modified the legal concept of "operational proportionality", placing it in the well-established framework for constitutional challenges in this jurisdiction. In view of the differences between the respective frameworks for human rights challenges in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom (UK), the court also held that the decisions of the two UK cases should not be followed in Hong Kong, and rejected the appellants' argument that each of a defendant's arrest, prosecution, conviction and sentence must be separately justified as proportionate.
The HKSAR Government reiterated that Hong Kong citizens have the rights to peaceful assembly and procession conducted in accordance with the law. That said, these rights must be exercised in conformity with the relevant legislation to ensure the safeguarding of national security, public order, public safety and the protection of the rights and freedom of others. The impact of such public events on members of the public should also be minimised.
The HKSAR Government spokesman said, "Hong Kong residents have the obligation to abide by the laws in force in the HKSAR. Equality before the law is one of the fundamental facets of the rule of law, and all persons, regardless of race, rank, politics or religion, are subject to the laws of the land."
Government sets up inter-departmental dedicated investigation team to investigate business suspension of chain fitness and beauty group
The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is highly concerned about the temporary business suspension announced by a chain fitness and beauty group on September 6. An inter-departmental dedicated investigation team has been set up with a view to handling the cases as soon as possible.
Hong Kong Customs and the Police will conduct intensive investigation into offences under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO) with respect to the unfair trade practices and whether other criminal offences are involved respectively. Should there be any violation found, the authorities will take appropriate enforcement action.
As of 4pm today (September 10), Customs and the Police had received 733 and 19 complaints respectively regarding the chain group concerned.
Customs appeals to consumers who have purchased fitness or beauty services from the chain group to contact Customs as soon as possible.Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO. Consumers are also reminded to procure services at reputable shops and consider prudently before making decisions for consumption with prepayment. After purchasing services, they should keep the relevant records, such as transaction receipts and contracts, which can become basic information in case a complaint is lodged in the future.
Under the TDO, any trader commits an offence if at the time of acceptance of payment, the trader intends not to supply the product or intends to supply a materially different product, or there are no reasonable grounds for believing that the trader will be able to supply the product within a specified or reasonable period. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
In response to the above incident, the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Police has set up a task force to investigate into the fraud and false statement offences. The police urge members of the public to report any relevant information to the Police's 24-hour hotline 2860 5012.
Source: AI-generated images
