Barristers fight it out in officer's appeal
A barrister seriously neglected his duties when he defended a police divisional commander who ended up being jailed for a year for misconduct in office, the High Court heard on Tuesday.
Barrister Albert Luk Wai-hung's handling of ex-superintendent Titus Wong Koon-ho's case was criticised by Wong's new defence counsel, Lawrence Lok Ying-kam SC, in an appeal against the conviction.
Wong was jailed in 2013 after being found guilty of ignoring the fact a Causeway Bay restaurant was serving alcohol without a licence in return for HK$5,500 of discounts and free whisky.
The appeal court heard that Luk failed to challenge the contents of the restaurant bills, which, according to deputy High Court judge Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, were the "crux of the case". The judge has already dismissed a handwritten thank you on one of the bills presented at the original trial as "hearsay" and inadmissible in court.
Newman Wong Hing-wai, the trial prosecutor, took the stand yesterday to say Luk never questioned the bills' admissibility.
Lok criticised Luk's claims in the witness box on Monday that the fault lay with Wong's instructions. "A lawyer needs to take clients' instructions, but he has to exercise his own professional judgment," Lok said.
Concluding his submissions, he added: "It was not an ordinary case of carelessness, but serious negligence of duties that resulted in an unfair trial."
Martin Hui Siu-ting, counsel for the government, argued that Luk had not neglected his duties and had taken instructions from Wong every day of the trial.
Wong, who was freed on bail pending the appeal, was supported by a full courtroom of friends. A written ruling will be handed down by Woo in March.
