高偉雄

English

Ko Wai-hung is a magistrate in Hong Kong, born in Hong Kong in 1972. He obtained an LL.B. and a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the University of Hong Kong in 1996 and 1997 respectively, was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1997 and has been in private practice since 1999. On 17 September 2012 he was appointed a Permanent Magistrate, by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. Ko sits at Eastern Magistrates' Courts. He has heard a widely reported insider dealing case: a listed-company chairman and film producer was accused of procuring another person to buy shares in his company while negotiating the sale of his stake to a third party, and was convicted after trial of counselling or procuring another to deal in securities while in possession of inside information. In a voir dire, Ko ruled that the relevant communications were admissible as evidence, and at sentencing he rejected the defendant's explanation as absurd and far-fetched, imposing an immediate custodial sentence together with a fine and an order to bear the investigation and litigation costs. The case concerned the prohibition of insider dealing under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, showing that the magistracy also has jurisdiction over criminal cases linked to the financial markets. The magistracy is Hong Kong's court of first instance for criminal matters; all judges and judicial officers are appointed by the Chief Executive on the independent recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission, under the Basic Law, whose Articles 88 and 92 set out the recommendation mechanism and the criteria for selection. Moving from the Bar to the bench after more than a decade in private practice, Ko joined the Judiciary and has built up experience in criminal adjudication, including in high-profile commercial cases such as this, which illustrates the wide range of work the magistracy covers.