再談非禮

2月2日司法機構上載了兩宗風化案的上訴，一宗是茅山師父歐陽國富以虛假藉口騙少女性交轉運的上訴(香港特別行政區 訴 歐 陽國富  CACC41/2010)  ，另一宗是案情頗特別的非禮上訴 (HKSAR and Tong Arnold HCMA173/2011)。標少只談這件非禮案。受害人是一名住在東涌公屋的已婚婦人，被告是她的鄰居。2009年6月某日清晨，受害人給被告按門鈴喚醒，被告聲稱開不到門，叫受害人幫助。受害人於是開門用被告的鎖匙試開他的鐵閘，期間被告從後攬著受害人，以下體摩擦受害人臀部。受害人推開被告，走回自己的住所。這是案情十分簡單的非禮案，本來並不值得評論，特別的地方是受害人沒有報案，也沒有告訴任何人，直至一年之後。

2010年6月的一個清晨，受害人的門鈴又響起來。這一次她的丈夫在家，所以他去應門，期間與被告爭執，被告出言恐嚇及猛踢鐵閘，被告的家人把被告帶回住所。受害人才第一次告訴丈夫在一年前遭非禮的經過，翌日報案。被告的抗辯理據是，兩家的積怨引至誣告。

被告被定罪並判監十四日。被告聘請金牙大狀清洪替他上訴，攻擊受害人被非禮後並沒有告訴任何人，及證供前後不一致的地方。聽審上訴的法官Andrew Macrae，駁回上訴。我相信大部份的高院法官都會批准上訴，撤銷定罪，受害人事隔一年才報案實在有使定罪不穩妥之處。我最欣賞Macrae處理裁判法院上訴的態度，他所持理據是

12. At the end of the day, there remained the extraordinary fact that PW1 had not told anybody (not even her husband) about the indecent assault upon her for almost a year after the event. The magistrate heard the evidence and accepted the reasons why PW1 had not told anyone about it until June 2010. I cannot say that he was wrong in accepting such evidence. And I am not prepared to say that the fact of such a late report could by itself vitiate this conviction. That would be too extreme a position and be in danger of usurping the magistrate’s function and duty to evaluate the evidence and, in particular, to consider carefully whether the reasons given for the delay by PW1 were credible and genuine. This it seems to me is exactly what he did.

13. In relation to the inconsistencies in PW1’s evidence, which the magistrate found were material, he examined the evidence surrounding them and determined they all arose out of the witness’s inexact or confused way of expressing herself rather deliberate untruth. Having examined the evidence in its full context, I would not dissent from his conclusion. Indeed, it seems to me that the inconsistencies are more apparent than real. (para 12 and 13 HKSAR and Tong Arnold HCMA173/2011)

很多上訴法院的法官都覺得比下級法院法官優勝，輕易從案情事實中挑幾塊骨頭出來，肆意批評，推翻定罪，所展示的是優越感多於實質的法律理據。難怪標少會對潘敏琦及一些較新任命的暫委法官較有好感。要肯定或撤銷定罪，都可以講一番大道理，分別在於聽審上訴的法官能否以正確宏觀的態度來處理上訴。Macrae是聽審Nancy Kissel(Milk Shake Murder)案重審的法官，駁回Kissel終止聆訊申請的判辭寫得無懈可擊，使標少拜服。

有時公義向金錢妥協，花得起錢的人請了資深的律師，增加了贏面。這件案被告卻枉花了幾十萬，金牙大狀也不能扭轉乾坤。何謂公義，值得深思。