Police commander's lawyer 'failed to challenge key evidence', court hears

A defence lawyer let down his client, a police divisional commander, by failing to challenge the contents of restaurant bills that landed the defendant in prison for misconduct, a High Court appeal heard on Monday.

Barrister Albert Luk Wai-hung is also accused of allowing prosecutors to present hearsay evidence to the Eastern Court trial of superintendent Titus Wong Koon-ho in 2013.

Wong was jailed for one year on a charge of misconduct in public office after he was convicted of turning a blind eye to the fact a Causeway Bay restaurant was serving alcohol without a licence, in return for HK$5,500 of discounts and free whisky.

Luk, who was called to the Bar in 1992, was questioned yesterday by Wong's counsel, Lawrence Lok Ying-kam SC.

"The crux of the case is the bills which proved that [Wong] received the benefits. If you didn't challenge the bills, what would you have challenged?" deputy High Court judge Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing asked Luk.

The court also heard that on one of the bills was handwritten the words: "Banquet as a token of thanks to superintendent Wong" - which the judge described as "hearsay" and therefore not admissible in criminal proceedings.