CHIEF Justice Sir Ti Liang Yang admitted yesterday that he did not know what to do in the wake of a closed-door drug trial held last week and was seeking legal guidance from Britain on the issue.
Sir Ti Liang said the type of in-camera trial provided for drug trafficker Wong Chi-keung should not happen again. He denied a precedent had been set.
''It's very rare and it's unlikely to happen again,'' Sir Ti Liang said.
The controversial decision of Deputy Judge Nigel Jones to hold a recent drug trial behind closed doors caused much teeth gnashing in Hong Kong's legal community, with lawyers and judges condemning the way the trial was conducted.
On Friday, Deputy Judge Jones admitted he was wrong to stage the trial in secret. Sir Ti Liang said he was looking to London to provide guidance which he could pass on to local judges and magistrates.
''In Hong Kong, this kind of situation is very rare. In England, it's more common [and] we are trying to find out what the practice is in England.'' Sir Ti Liang would not explain why Deputy Judge Jones decided to cloak the trial in secrecy.
