Fake cash conviction for prop master on Hong Kong Best Picture winner Trivisa quashed because trial judge didn’t count all 233,079 notes

A film props master found guilty of possessing counterfeit money was cleared on appeal by the High Court on Monday, after the original trial judge was found to have erred in not individually inspecting each one of the 233,079 fake notes.

Still, Cheung Wai-chuen, who was initially handed a four-month suspended jail term, was warned by Mr Justice Albert Wong Sung-hau to be careful in the future when using fake cash that resembled real money.

Cheung, who was working on award-winning crime drama Trivisa before he was arrested, was convicted alongside colleague Law Yun-lam in May, and the judgment angered the city’s film industry, with filmmakers, actors, and professionals venting their fury at a decision they believed would have a severe impact on artistic freedom.

Law, who did not appeal his conviction, had borrowed 9,996 fake HK$1,000 banknotes from Cheung for a prank in 2016, the year the film was released. Police subsequently found the notes in Law’s car, and later discovered 223,083 more banknotes at Cheung’s props company.

The pair were charged, found guilty and sentenced this year, even though the banknotes were movie props, and clearly labelled as such.