### Criminal Procedure Ordinance 《刑事訴訟程序條例》

49. Arraignment of accused person
(1) The accused person shall be placed at the bar unfettered and not in prison clothes, unless the court sees cause to direct otherwise.
(2) The indictment shall then be read over to him by the Registrar, and explained, if necessary, by the Registrar or the interpreter of the court; and he shall be required to plead instantly thereto, unless he objects to the want of due service of the indictment and notice of trial, and the court finds that he has not been duly served therewith.
(3) Where the accused person is a corporation, a plea in writing may be entered by its representative, and if either the corporation does not appear by a representative or, though it does so appear, fails to enter as aforesaid any plea, the court shall order a plea of not guilty to be entered and the trial shall proceed as though the corporation had duly entered a plea of not guilty. (Added 11 of 1962 s. 2)
(4) In this section and in section 87 of the Magistrates Ordinance (Cap. 227), the expression representative (代表) in relation to a corporation means a person duly appointed by the corporation to represent it for the purpose of doing any act or thing which the representative of a corporation is by this section or by section 87 of the Magistrates Ordinance (Cap. 227) authorized to do, but a person so appointed shall not, by virtue only of being so appointed, be qualified to act on behalf of the corporation before any court for any other purpose. A representative for the purposes of this section and section 87 of the Magistrates Ordinance (Cap. 227) need not be appointed under the seal of the corporation, and a statement in writing purporting to be signed by a managing director of the corporation, or by any person (by whatever name called) having, or being one of the persons having, the management of the affairs of the corporation, to the effect that the person named in the statement has been appointed as the representative of the corporation for the purposes of this section or of section 87 of the Magistrates Ordinance (Cap. 227) shall be admissible without further proof as prima facie evidence that that person has been so appointed. (Added 11 of 1962 s. 2)

50. Effect of plea of not guilty
The accused person, on being arraigned, by pleading generally the plea of not guilty, shall, by such plea, without further form, be deemed to have put himself upon the country for trial.

### Criminal Procedure Ordinance 《刑事訴訟程序條例》

51. Trial of offences
(1) If a person is arraigned on an indictment—
(a) he shall in all cases be entitled to make a plea of not guilty in addition to any special plea;
(b) he may plead not guilty to the offence specifically charged in the indictment but guilty to another offence of which he might be found guilty on that indictment;
(c) if he stands mute of malice, or will not answer directly to the indictment, the court may order a plea of not guilty to be entered on his behalf, and he shall then be treated as having pleaded not guilty. (Amended 24 of 1993 s. 8)
(2) If on the trial of any information, charge or indictment for any offence it is proved that the accused is not guilty of that offence but the allegations in the information, charge or indictment amount to or include, whether expressly or by implication, an allegation of another offence falling within the jurisdiction of the court of trial, he may be found guilty of that other offence or of an offence of which he could be found guilty on an information, charge or indictment specifically charging that other offence. (Amended 6 of 2024 s. 143)
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) any allegation of an offence shall be taken as including an allegation of attempting to commit that offence; and where a person is charged with attempting to commit an offence or with any assault or other act preliminary to an offence but not with the completed offence, then he may be convicted of the offence charged notwithstanding that he is shown to be guilty of the completed offence.
(4) Where a person arraigned on an indictment pleads not guilty of an offence charged in the indictment but guilty of some other offence of which he might be found guilty on that charge, and he is convicted on that plea of guilty without trial for the offence of which he has pleaded not guilty then, whether or not the 2 offences are separately charged in distinct counts, his conviction of the one offence shall be an acquittal of the other.
(5) Any power to bring proceedings for an offence by criminal information is abolished.
(6) Subsections (1) and (2) shall apply to an indictment containing more than one count as if each count were a separate indictment.
(7) In subsection (2), court of trial (主審法院) includes the District Court and a magistrate. (Added 34 of 1972 s. 8)
(Replaced 5 of 1971 s. 5)[cf. 1967 c. 58 s. 6 U.K.]

### Criminal Procedure Ordinance 《刑事訴訟程序條例》

51A. Entry of verdict of not guilty by order of judge
Where an accused person arraigned on an indictment pleads not guilty and the prosecutor proposes to offer no evidence against him, the court before which the accused person is arraigned may, if it thinks fit, order that a verdict of not guilty shall be recorded without the accused person being given in charge to a jury, and the verdict shall have the same effect as if the accused person had been tried and acquitted.
(Added 5 of 1971 s. 5)[cf. 1967 c. 80 s. 17 U.K.]

53. Objection of substance to indictment
(1) No objection to an indictment shall be taken by way of demurrer, but if an indictment does not state in substance an indictable offence or states an offence not triable by the court, the accused person may move the court to quash it or in arrest of judgment. (Amended 50 of 1911 s. 4)
(2) If such motion is made before the accused person pleads, the court shall either quash the indictment or amend it. (Amended 50 of 1911; 1 of 1912 Schedule)
(3) If the defect in the indictment appears to the court during the trial, and the court does not think fit to amend the indictment, it may either quash the indictment or leave the objection to be taken in arrest of judgment. (Amended 50 of 1911; 1 of 1912 Schedule)
(4) If the indictment is quashed, the court may direct the accused person to be detained in custody until such time or for such period as the court may order or to be released on bail, and may order him to plead to another indictment when called on at the same time or during that period, as the case may be. (Amended 50 of 1911; 1 of 1912 Schedule; 6 of 1990 s. 4)