THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Faculty of Law
2020-21

LLAW2004 : Criminal Law II

FINAL EXAMINATION
18 May 2021
Time: 9:30 am - 1:15 pm

ON-LINE

[This examination counts for either 60% or 70% of your final grade in
LLAW2003/2004]

INSTRUCTIONS

This Examination Paper comprises three (3) questions

You must answer TWO (2) of these three questions

There are NO compulsory questions

Word limit: 1350 words for each question

[If you answer question 1 or question 2, then 1350 words is the total word limit
for both parts answered by you - allocating the words between parts is at your discretion]

Penalty applicable to each question : overall reduction by one fine grade (eg. B reduced to
B-) if total words exceeds question word limit (1350) by 10% (ie. by 135 words), and
further fine grade deductions for every additional 135 words

Support your answers with adequate references to and discussion of

YOUR ANSWER MUST BE SOLELY YOUR OWN WORK AND NOT INVOLVE OR
RESULT FROM COLLABORATION OR DISCUSSION WITH OTHER PERSONS
(WHETHER CANDIDATES OR ANYONE ELSE) DURING THE TIME ALLOCATED
FOR THE ONLINE EXAMINATION

This examination paper has five (5) pages including this page

Page 1 of 5
 LLAW2004 Criminal Law II

Question 1 (word limit : 1350 words for this question)

If you choose to answer this question, you must answer BOTH (a) AND (b). Each answer counts
as 50% of the overall grade for Question 1

(a) Art, a retired overseas policeman visiting HK, heard Betty shout at her 12 year old son, Cam.
Art then saw Betty smack Cam on the ear. Cam started crying. Art stepped forward, grabbed Betty on
the arm and said, ‘Hey, stop hitting your child.’ Betty, terrified by Art’s large size and ‘foreign-ness’,
screamed and said, ‘Who are you? Get away from me.’ Art had very sensitive ears, and experienced
pain in his ears when Betty screamed. Art let go of Betty and stepped backwards. But Cam, who had
picked up a brick from a pile lying nearby, hit Art on his back. ‘Ow’, said Art. Betty said, ‘Hit him
again Cam, get him away from me’. Cam hit Art again with the brick, this time on the back of Art’s
head. Art was knocked off-balance and fell to the ground, hitting the back of his head on the pile of
bricks as he fell. Art died before he could receive medical attention, due to uncontrolled bleeding
inside his brain. Art’s skull was not fractured, and there was only one external wound on Art’s head
along with an additional large bruise. Forensic examination determined that the internal bleeding in
Art’s brain was caused by whichever blow to Art’s head made the external wound, but cannot say
which blow to Art’s head caused the external wound.

Discuss the criminal liability, if any, of Betty and Cam.

AND

(b) Greg was angry at Mo for insulting Greg’s mother. Greg knew that Mo ran midnight parties
in the basement of a semi-derelict house in the New Territories (the basement was sound-proofed, so
the music wouldn’t be heard or disturb neighbours). Greg met two friends, Hank and Joe, and told
them about Mo. Greg also told them about the semi-derelict house in the New Territories, but not
about the midnight parties. Greg said he believed Mo’s family owned the house. They agreed to go to
the house that evening, and throw red paint over the outer walls of the house in retribution. That
evening, they met as agreed near the house. Greg was drunk, after drinking cans of beer at dinner;
whereas Hank was feeling very sleepy after taking a sleeping pill earlier that evening. As Greg was
handing out tins of red paint, Joe said, ‘Sorry, changed my mind, that house looks haunted, I don’t
want to go near it,’ and left. Hank said, ‘I don’t feel well, what haunted house?’, but took a tin of
paint when Greg gave it to him. Greg and Hank then went up to the house, but instead of throwing red
paint on the outer walls of the house, Greg said, ‘Let’s start a fire, smoke out any ghosts.’ Hank, who
was feeling very confused, said, ‘Sure, whatever, let’s scare the ghosts.’ Greg piled up some old
newspapers against the wall, and set fire to them. Greg and Hank watched for a minute or two, and
saw the flames set the wall alight. Thick smoke rose in the air, both outside and inside the house.
Suddenly, Mo and a group of friends, who had been partying in the basement, came out of the house,
gasping for air. Hank looked at Greg and said, ‘Wow, we’ve really scared the ghosts!’ Greg said,
‘Yeah … and also Mo and his friends, just as I planned.’

Discuss the criminal liability, if any, of Greg, Hank and Joe.

**

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 LLAW2004 Criminal Law II

Question 2 (word limit : 1350 words for this question)

If you choose to answer this question, answer TWO of (a), (b) or (c). Each answer counts as
50% of the overall grade for Question 2.

(a) Don was in a jewellery shop, buying a gift for his girlfriend. While there, Don tried on a silver
necklace. While still wearing the necklace, Don received a phone call from his girlfriend, who said she
was unhappy and wanted to be comforted by Don. Don said to the shop assistant, Eve, ‘I’ve got to
take this call, I’ll be back in a moment’. Eve was checking her Instagram page on her phone and said
‘Sure, sure.’ Don stepped outside the store, onto the pavement, to talk to his girlfriend. Eve suddenly
realised Don had left the store, and shouted to the security guard, Fred, ‘Grab Don, he’s taken a
necklace.’ Fred stepped outside onto the pavement and looked around for Don. Don, still on the
phone, saw Fred and recognised him as the security guard in the jewellery store. When Fred noticed
Don and said, ‘Hey, you’, Don suddenly realised he was still wearing the necklace, and thought to
himself, ‘Run away!’ Just at that moment, a truck crashed on the road nearby. Don saw a large
concrete pipe on the back of the truck come loose and start rolling off the truck, right towards Fred.
Don ran towards Fred and pushed him hard, out of the way. Fred fell against a wall, and broke his
arm. Before Don could do anything else, Eve, who had come up behind Don, grabbed the necklace
and pulled it off Don’s neck, breaking the chain and scratching Don’s neck.

Discuss the criminal liability, if any, of Don and Eve.

- or -

(b) Ken and his girlfriend, Lisa, concocted a scheme to set up Ned, a work colleague, as an
apparent participant in a crime, in order to blackmail his rich father. Ned had learning difficulties and
was easily led by persons around him. His father pays a helper to stay with him while at work, to
supervise him and keep him safe. Ken told the helper he would look after Ned while the helper went
to get a vaccination shot. Once the helper had gone, Ken said to Ned, ‘Come with me, I’ve got
something to show you.’ Ned, who thought Ken was ‘funny’, followed Ken to an unused store-room
in the building. When they entered, Ned saw Lisa, tied to an old chair, with a gag over her mouth (this
was all part of the scheme). Ken said, ‘I’m going to beat this girl. And you are going to help me … or
you’ll be next!’ Ned was afraid, and started banging his head on the wall, saying ‘No, no, no.’ Ken
ordered Ned, ‘Come over to the chair and take off Lisa’s top, and then put your hands on her
shoulders.’ Ned did as Ken ordered. Ned’s hands were shaking so much that at one point his right
hand slipped and came to rest on Lisa’s right breast (she was still wearing her bra). At that very
moment, Ken whipped Lisa across her stomach (all part of the scheme, which Lisa had agreed to).
This was all recorded on a video camera set up by Ken, showing Ned’s left hand on Lisa’s shoulder
and Ned’s right hand touching Lisa’s right breast while she was being whipped. Ken meant to whip
Lisa only lightly, but he misjudged and struck Lisa too hard, breaking the skin on her stomach, which
started to bleed. Ned says he has no memory of events from the moment he started banging his head
on the wall.

Discuss the criminal liability, if any, of Ken, Lisa and Ned [except not for conspiracy to
blackmail].

- or -

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 LLAW2004 Criminal Law II

(c) Paul was the chief electrician and senior manager of Ron’s Electrical & Design Co Ltd (‘RED
Co’). Paul’s electrical department employed 18 staff, including Paul’s son, Sam, who was an
apprentice electrician. RED Co was doing a renovation project in an industrial warehouse owned by
Tina. Sam was usually supervised by one of Paul’s senior electricians. However, when that senior
electrician phoned in ill, Paul told Sam just to get on with the work he was doing. Later that morning,
Paul checked up on Sam, but when he touched a newly installed door, got an electric shock. Paul
realised that Sam had wrongly installed a complicated electrical cable to the door. Paul knew that Sam
did not have the experience to handle such a complicated electrical cable, so Paul said, ‘Turn off that
cable immediately. I’ll come back later and show you how to connect it correctly’. Paul then left.
Unfortunately, Sam only heard Paul say, ‘I’ll come back later and show you how to connect it
correctly’. Sam did not turn off the cable, but left it as it was (ie. wrongly installed). An hour later,
before Paul came back, Tina visited with her elderly father, Wes, to show him the renovations to the
old warehouse. When Wes touched the door handle, he received an electric shock, and, because he
had serious heart problems, suffered a heart attack. An ambulance was called, but it crashed on the
way to the hospital, and another ambulance had to be called. Due to the delay, Wes died before
arriving at the hospital. When Paul was called to the warehouse, he instantly realised Sam had not
turned off the cable as Paul had told him to do, so Paul quickly turned it off, and correctly re-
connected the cable himself. Paul’s actions were captured by a hidden CCTV system installed by
Tina.

Discuss the criminal liability, if any, of Sam, Paul and RED Co for Wes’s death.

**

Question 3 (word limit : 1350 words for this question)

The Woo and Yee families had been feuding with each other for decades in the same area of the New
Territories. Over the years, minor acts of violence and damage had taken place. Recently, a Yee
female had been physically attacked late at night and threatened with rape. The attacker was never
identified, but the Yee family was ‘convinced’ the attacker was a member of the Woo family.

Three members of the Yee family – Uris and his two adult sons, Vinny and Zac – decided to ‘get
even’. One night, they waited outside a restaurant which was owned by the Woo family. Uris , Vinny
and Zac each carried a wooden hockey stick. Uris and Zac both knew that Vinny habitually carried a
knife, so Uris said to Vinny, ‘No cutting, ok … let’s just threaten them.’ Zac sometimes suffers
psychotic episodes when he becomes angry (it’s thought the psychotic episodes result from damage to
his brain from drug use when he was younger). Zac nodded in agreement, ‘Yeah Vinny, no knife.’

When W1 and W2 (two male Woo family members) left the restaurant, Uris, Vinny and Zac
confronted them. Holding up his hockey stick, Uris said, ‘So which of you did it? Who attacked my
daughter?’ W1 and W2 pushed Uris and turned to run. But Vinny was quicker and stood in front of
them, with his hockey stick in one hand and his knife in the other. ‘Not so fast … kneel down’, said
Vinny. W1 and W2 knelt down. ‘Now answer my father, you scum, which of you hurt my sister’,
said Vinny.

W1 said, ‘Yee’s, you are all just alcoholics, drug addicts and cowards. I think your sister enjoyed
being beaten up … and I wish I had done what I threatened.’ Hearing W1’s words, Vinny and Zac
both became angry. Vinny had been bullied and beaten up many times by W1 when they were still at
school and hated W1. Vinny threw down his knife and struck W1 on the head with his hockey stick,

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 LLAW2004 Criminal Law II

knocking W1 unconscious. Zac suddenly picked up the knife, grabbed hold of W2, who was still
kneeling down, and cut W2’s throat. Uris then knocked the knife out of Zac’s hand.

W2 died instantly, but W1 was still alive. Believing W1 was also dead, Vinny wiped the handle of his
hockey stick, and put it in W2’s hand. Uris and Vinny then carried W1’s ‘body’ up to the roof of a
nearby building, and put Vinny’s bloody knife in W1’s hand. They then threw W1’s ‘body’ off the
roof, hoping to make it look like W1 had killed W2 during a fight between W1 and W2, and W1 had
then committed suicide. W1 died when his body hit the ground.

Zac says he has no memory of what happened after he heard W1 mention Zac’s sister. Medical
evidence says Zac may have suffered a psychotic episode when he became angry upon hearing W1’s
words, and may have been either unaware of what he was doing, or unable to control his violent
impulses.

Discuss the criminal liability, if any, of Uris, Vinny and Zac.

-- END OF PAPER --

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