Martin Hui SC and Stephen Siu secured an acquittal for defendant accused of money laundering with costs

In HKSAR v Cheung SY (ESCC 2422/2025), Martin Hui SC and Stephen Siu represented a Defendant charged with money laundering. The Prosecution alleged that the Defendant knowingly dealt with proceeds of an indictable offence, namely an “Investment Scam” with the deceived sum of over HK$6 million, or have reasonable grounds to believe that such property represented proceeds of an indictable offence.

At trial, the Defence challenged whether the Prosecution could identify and prove the predicate indictable offence. Accepting the Defence’s submissions, the Court ruled that the bank statements produced by the Prosecution did not fall within “banker’s record” under section 20 of the Evidence Ordinance, and thus were hearsay documents. The Court also accepted the Defence’s case that the Defendant was involved in the trading of cryptocurrency and did not have any ground to believe that he was dealing with proceeds of crime.

The Defendant was accordingly acquitted, and the Defence’s application for costs was granted despite the prosecution’s opposition. 

Martin Hui SC, leading Mr. Stephen Siu instructed by Tung, Ng, Tse & Lam Solicitors, acted for the Defendant.

See Martin’s profile here: https://www.plowmanchambers.com/team/martin-hui-sc

See Stephen’s profile here: https://www.plowmanchambers.com/team/stephen-siu