法律援助署五十周年紀念特刊 | Legal Aid Department 50th Anniversary Commemorative Publication

P.27 法律援助署五十周年紀念特刊 Highs and Lows of 1970s Hong Kong The Legal Aid Department (LAD) was in those days located at the aptly named Sincere Building on Des Voeux Road. Moss reported for duty as the 13th Legal Aid Officer in a department of about 250 in total on April Fool’s Day 1977. He was posted to the Running Down Section after he spent his second day at Kowloon Magistracy attending an inquest on a woman who had died on the operating table in a local hospital. As he listened to the horrifying evidence and watched through the window as low flying aircraft approached nearby Kai Tak Airport, he began to wonder whether he had made the right decision. Fortunately, reassurance was soon to follow. Life in the Running Down Section was a complete change for him. Gone was the profit motive of private practitioners. In its stead was the conviction that he was helping people through the intricacies of the legal system because they could not afford to consult a solicitor. In those days, solicitors who were prepared to undertake such cases were few in number. Wayward drivers seemed to adopt whatever excuse for accidents were in favour at the time. For a long time, it was “a dog ran out and made me swerve to have the accident.” The explanation drew skepticism until when he drove through the New Territories, when it became apparent that there really were many stray dogs around. Time spent in the Criminal Section was yet another insight into Hong Kong life. Having done quite a lot of criminal work in private practice but generally at a lower level of court, the time spent in the Criminal Section was an eye opener. Few UK practitioners would ever have the opportunity to act on behalf of those accused of such serious crimes as those that came to the Section on a regular basis. Under LAD’s first Director, Desmond Mayne QC, the work of the Department increased steadily. One development that was, sadly, less successful was “The Van”. Donated by the Rotary Club, the vehicle travelled to various District Offices in the New Territories to enable applications for legal aid to be made there rather than attending the offices in Hong Kong or Kowloon. Rota duty for officers was not popular since there were few who chose to apply for aid at the van. The only big queue for the van was when a number of school kids waited for what they thought was ice cream. 七十年代的高低起伏 法律援助署當年位於德輔道的先施大廈。1977年的愚人節 (4月1日)，穆士賢在這個擁有約250名員工的部門正式履新， 成為第13名法律援助主任。翌日，他獲派到九龍裁判司署出 席一位死於醫院手術台上的女士的死因研訊。當時，窗外的 飛機低飛掠過，準備降落在附近的啟德機場。他在聽取駭人 的證供時，一邊開始思考來港發展的決定是否正確。幸而， 這位後來被派駐交通意外組的新人很快便安心下來了。 法援署交通意外組的工作，對比穆士賢過去私人執業的經驗可 謂大相逕庭。眼見大眾在複雜的法律制度下，負擔不起聘請律 師的費用，對穆士賢而言，工作的動力不再是金錢回報，取而 代之的是協助他人的使命。當時，願意接手這類工作的律師 實在不多。魯莽的司機在遇上意外時，都會用上對其有利的 藉口，他們總會以「有狗隻路過，我要突然轉軚，因此造成 意外」作為理由。穆士賢對此說法半信半疑，直到他駕車經過 新界，發現路上真的有很多流浪狗，這才真正釋除疑慮。 同樣地，在刑事組的日子加深了穆士賢對香港生活的了解。 他在私人執業期間處理過不少刑事案件，但大多只是由下級 法院審理的性質較輕微案件，而在法援署刑事組的經歷則令 他眼界大開。在香港，需尋求法援的刑事案件相對於英國的 嚴重得多，英國的同業應該很少機會接觸到這類案件。 法援外展車。 The Legal Aid Van.