MCS Partner reports on Hong Kong updates in IBA newsletter

MCS Partner reports on Hong Kong updates in IBA newsletter

In an article appearing in the September 2014 issue of the International Bar Association’s Criminal Law and Business Crime newsletter Christopher Morley updates the IBA on developments in Hong Kong criminal law. It covers the topics of Money Laundering, Random Drug Tests and Sentencing. The full article can be viewed here: PDF LINK

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Money Laundering

The Court of Final Appeal has granted leave to appeal a conviction on the issue of whether a defendant’s honest and reasonable belief that property was not the proceeds of an indictable offence is a defence to a charge under section 25(1) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, Cap 455 (OSCO) ….

Random Drug Tests

The Hong Kong Committee on Narcotics has proposed a new scheme whereby law enforcement officers who reasonably suspect that a person has consumed drugs are authorised to compel that person to undergo a drug test. ….

Sentencing

The Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong has recommended that the courts be given full discretion to impose any sentences appropriate to an offender, removing the current restriction on ‘excepted’ offences where the legislature has removed a suspended sentence of imprisonment as an option. ….