QUEEN'S Counsel in Hong Kong charge more than three times as much as their English counterparts to appear in a two-day murder appeal, the Chief Justice, Sir Ti Liang Yang, revealed yesterday.
He was giving reasons for refusing to allow Martin Thomas, a leading English QC, to handle the appeal of Ng Kam-chuen.
The Hong Kong Bar Association objected to Mr Thomas' admission, even though he had already prepared the grounds of Ng's appeal.
Ng's solicitors had called five Hong Kong QCs and found the average cost quoted was a briefing fee of $300,000 and $50,000 a day.
The briefing fee for a similar case in England would be GBP5,000 ($57,260) and GBP2,500 ($28,630) a day, according to the judgment.
Sir Ti Liang said he was not given details of Ng's financial situation, but was only told that Ng had a limited budget.
