HKSAR V. CHEN KEEN (ALIAS JACK CHEN) (陳克恩) (and 2 others)

[2023] HKCFA 11 Court of Final Appeal 24 May 2023 • FACC3/2023; FACC4/2023; FACC5/2023 • 41 min read
24 cases cited (0 SG, 24 foreign)

Practice Areas

Complex Commercial Crimes Ordinance Costs in Criminal Cases Ordinance Crimes Ordinance Criminal Procedure Ordinance District Court Ordinance Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance Magistrates Ordinance Prevention of Bribery Ordinance The Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance Trade Descriptions Ordinance

Judges (5)

Cheung Coram Fok Coram Gummow Coram Lam Coram Ribeiro Coram

Counsel (10)

Boase, Cohen & Collins Firm Department of Justice Firm Haldanes Firm Benson Tsoi Counsel Defendant Betty Chiu Counsel Defendant Claudia Ng Counsel Respondent Ian Winter Counsel Defendant Joycelyn Ng Counsel Respondent Tim Owen Counsel Defendant Vinci Lam Counsel Respondent

Parties (4)

HKSAR Respondent Chen Keen (alias Jack Chen) Appellant Hao May Appellant Yee Wenjye Appellant

Summary

Chen Keen, Hao May and Yee Wenjye appealed against their convictions for conspiracy to defraud in relation to the acquisition of New Zealand farms by a Hong Kong listed company. The Court of Final Appeal considered the proper approach to dishonesty in conspiracy to defraud charges and the extra-territorial reach of Hong Kong's fraud laws. The appeals were allowed and the convictions were quashed.

Statutes Cited

Complex Commercial Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200)
s 25
Costs in Criminal Cases Ordinance
s 4
Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200)
Criminal Procedure Ordinance
s 15(2) s 16 s 51A s 82
District Court Ordinance (Cap 336)
s 84
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance
s 32(2)
Magistrates Ordinance
s 104
Prevention of Bribery Ordinance
s 28
The Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap 383)
Trade Descriptions Ordinance
s 28

Cases Cited (24)

UK (1)
[2003] 4 All ER 209
HK (23)
(1999) 2 HKCFAR 531 (2000) 3 HKCFAR 144 (2007) 10 HKCFAR 730 (2009) 12 HKCFAR 342 (2009) 12 HKCFAR 568 (2014) 17 HKCFAR 593 (2017) 20 HKCFAR 196 (2019) 22 HKCFAR 248 (2022) 25 HKCFAR 191 (2022) 25 HKCFAR 34 [2003] 1 HKC 174 [2010] 1 HKC 464 [2013] 1 HKLRD 130 [2018] HKCA 121 [2019] HKCFA 51 [2020] 2 HKLRD 367 [2021] HKCFI 1751 [2021] HKCFI 2308 [2021] HKCFI 3567 [2022] 1 HKLRD 992 [2022] 4 HKLRD 219 [2022] 5 HKLRD 556 [2023] HKCFA 2

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Hong Kong Courts portal.

Read on HKLII

Source: HKLII ([2023] HKCFA 11)