THE HANG SENG UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Bachelor Degree Programme

2020 -2021 Semester 1 Individual Assignment

Module Code : ACY2021

Module Title : Hong Kong Business Law
Date & Time : 29-30 October 2020

Notes to Candidates:

1. This is an open-book take-home individual assignment. You are required to

complete the individual assignment by yourself. No collaboration or discussion
with others is allowed. Any evidence of collaboration in the completion of the
assignment may result in severe mark deduction and referral to university
committees for disciplinary actions.

2. There are TWO questions in this individual assignment. Answer ALL questions
in not more than 1,600 words. Marks allocated to parts of questions are
indicated in brackets.

3. This individual assignment will be marked out of 50.

4. Submission: Upon typing your answers in the “Answer Book” provided, soft
copy of the Word file should be uploaded to the Online Submission System (at
https://oss.hsu.edu.hk/) by 10:00AM, 30 October 2020 (Friday). The time
allowed is 24 hours. The file name in Word format should be saved as "Class
Number_Student Name_Student Number", e.g. L01_Chan Tai Man_s123456.

5. You should submit your assignment answers in Word format to the Online
Submission System ONCE only. Any re-submission of file will NOT be
allowed. Hence, please double check the correctness of your assignment
answers before submission.

6. It is highly encouraged that you should NOT upload the file in the last minute
before the submission deadline. In case of technical issues such as a system
failure of the Online Submission System, you can email your answer book to
your responsible module teacher as a last resort.

7. Late Submission: 20% of the marks awarded to the individual assignment will
be deducted for each calendar day overdue until the soft copy of it is submitted.
Please email your answer book to your responsible module teacher if you are late
and therefore cannot submit to OSS.

8. Non-Submission: No marks will be given to any students who fail to submit

the individual assignment.
Read the cases given and answer ALL questions. Total marks are 50 marks.
You are required to answer the relevant questions in the “Answer Book” provided.

Question 1 (20 marks)

(a) Sally runs an antique store in Causeway Bay. One night, after closing of the store,
she brought all the cash received during the day to deposit into the bank. In a lane
not far from her store, a man in black jacket suddenly rushed past Sally, pulled on
her handbag to wrench it from her hands. Losing her bag, Sally immediately chased
after the man. In desperate attempt to escape, the man kicked Sally vigorously.
Sally fell on the ground and was seriously injured. Fortunately, the man was soon
captured by some pedestrians passing by and sent to the police station.

Required:

(i) If the man in black jacket is formally charged for robbery, explain whether the
case involves civil or criminal law. Discuss the characteristics of this kind of
law. (7 marks)

(ii) If Sally wants to claim damages against the robber for her medical expenses
amount to HK$100,000, explain whether the case involves civil or criminal
law. Which court or tribunal will hear Sally’s case? Explain this court or
tribunal’s specific jurisdiction relevant to the case. (5 marks)

(b) Under the common law system in Hong Kong, when a magistrate sitting in the
Magistrates’ Court decides a case, he finds that there is a similar case previously
decided by the Court of Appeal, is he bound to follow that case to arrive at the
decision? Explain. (4 marks)

(c) Explain the “Mischief Rule” for interpretation of legislation under the common law
practice. Please cite a relevant case of the mischief rule. (4 marks)

[End of Question, Total for Question 1: 20 marks]

To be continued on the next page

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Question 2 (30 marks)

(a) One day, Mary went to a boutique and tried on a dress displayed on the shelf of the
shop. Then, she felt that the dress was not very comfortable and put it back on the
shelf. However, the salesperson insisted Mary needed to pay for the dress because
she already had a contract with the shop.

Peter is the shopkeeper of a pet shop. Last week, Peter lost one of his Persian cats
when taking it for bathing at his shop. He immediately put up a notice on the wall
of his pet shop stating a reward of $1,000 for return of his cat. Recently, when Mary
walked along the street, she found Peter’s lost cat accidentally. Luckily, the cat
wore a necklace with details of Peter’s name and shop address. After Mary returned
the cat to Peter, she discovered the notice on the wall and demanded the reward of
$1,000.

Required:

(i) Advise Mary whether she is legally bound to buy the dress in the boutique. You
are required to cite a relevant case in your explanation. (12 marks)

(ii) Advise Peter whether he is legally bound to pay the reward to Mary. You are
required to cite a relevant case in your explanation. (10 marks)

(b) Ada contracted with Brian to repair her car for $5,000 and to complete the work
within one week. Later, Brian told her that the repair work was very sophisticated
and Ada promised to pay him an extra amount of $500.

Required:

Advise Brian whether Ada is legally bound to pay him the extra amount of $500.
You are required to cite relevant case(s) in your explanation. (8 marks)

[End of Question, Total for Question 2: 30 marks]

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