Case Update: - Defendant Granted Bail Albeit Being PRC Resident Accused of Serious Allegations

On 17 April 2025, Mr. Conrad Wan and Mr. Zavier To of Capital Chambers successfully obtained bail for a defendant, who had been refused bail twice on prior occasions with a different legal representative.

The defendant was charged with a count of “Passing Counterfeit Notes and Coins”, contrary to 99(1)(a) of the Crimes Ordinance Cap. 200 for allegedly depositing some kind of USD counterfeit banknotes at a bank in Hong Kong.

The defendant was first brought to Court where she was refused bail for her status as a PRC resident with two-way entry permit; she was once again denied bail with the same reason on another subsequent occasion for bail review, the defendant then switched to new solicitors and counsel.

Upon receiving the papers of the defendant, Conrad and Zavier immediately identified the weakness of the prosecution’s case against the defendant. Applying cases on “Passing Counterfeit Notes and Coins”, like HKSAR v Ukeh Simon Chibueze [2024] HKDC 1243, Conrad and Zavier opined that the prosecution’s case against the defendant was rather weak and for that reason, the defendant should be granted bail albeit her status as a PRC resident.

After rounds of discussions with the prosecution as to the defendant’s bail application, including making representations through letter, with bail conditions tailored to the defendant’s situation as depicted in HKSAR v Vu Thang Duong [2015] 3 HKC 293, the defendant successfully obtained bail on 17 April 2025, which was her second bail review hearing.

Main Takeaways

Generally speaking, the most common reason to refuse a defendant bail is the high risk of absconding, and this can be due to different reasons including the seriousness of the alleged offence committed or the lack of local ties, which is common among foreign defendants; with the presence of these two factors, it is often automatic that such defendant would be refused bail. However; practitioners are reminded not to jump to conclusions too quickly and always bear in mind that a defendant yet to be convicted is always entitled to the presumption of bail under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights; therefore, with the identification of the weakness of the prosecution’s case, along with tailored made conditions proposal, a foreigner can still be granted bail.

Members of Capital Chambers who practise criminal law can be found here.