So we're not like North Korea after all.
A year after a top barrister sparked controversy by comparing conviction rates in Hong Kong courts with those in North Korea, new figures from the Department of Justice show that over the past decade the rates are similar to those in other common law jurisdictions, and often lower.
From 2000 to 2009, Hong Kong's average overall conviction rate was 77.5 per cent. Nearly half the convictions were of defendants who pleaded guilty without going to trial. In 2008, the overall conviction rate was 75.3 per cent, lower than in Britain, Australia, and Malaysia, according to an analysis by the Sunday Morning Post.
For defendants that went to trial, the conviction rate was 57.5 per cent over the past decade and 54.9 per cent in 2008 - significantly lower than in Britain and Australia, which are the only countries that released comparable statistics.
The new figures provide a more detailed, nuanced portrait of the city's conviction rates than the information available just one year ago.
In response to a request by the Sunday Morning Post, the Department of Justice released similar figures for all years dating back to 2000, which show that conviction rates have consistently ebbed and flowed over that period.
