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

9B. Rules for payment of allowance to witnesses
(1) The Rules Committee may, with the approval of the Legislative Council, make rules providing for the payment of an allowance to witnesses in criminal proceedings before any court, and such rules may, in particular, provide for— (Amended 13 of 1995 s. 25)
(a) the classification of witnesses;
(b) the payment of different rates of allowance to different classes of witnesses; and
(c) the rate of allowance which may be paid to witnesses in a particular class.
(2) The expenses of the allowances paid under such rules shall be met from moneys provided by the Legislative Council.
(3) In this section—
(a) court (法庭) includes the District Court and a magistrate;
(b) witness (證人) means any person properly attending a court to give evidence, whether or not called to give evidence at the instance of the court, and whether or not he gives evidence, and includes—
(i) a person who conducts a prosecution under section 14 of the Magistrates Ordinance (Cap. 227) and obtains an order for costs under section 69 of that Ordinance; and
(ii) a defendant who obtains an order for costs under section 73A, or section 69 of the Magistrates Ordinance (Cap. 227),
but does not include a person who is—
(A) a police officer attending court in the course of his duties;
(B) an officer of the Correctional Services Department attending court in the course of his duties; or
(C) a prisoner in respect of any occasion on which he is conveyed to court in custody. (Replaced 6 of 1990 s. 2)

(Added 56 of 1971 s. 2)

9C. Interpretation
In this Part—
admitted to bail (獲准保釋、准予保釋) means the release by a court of a person from detention on his undertaking that he shall surrender to custody on the day that the court may appoint;
court (法院、法庭) includes the District Court and a magistrate;
judge (法官) means a Justice of Appeal, a judge of the Court of First Instance and a deputy judge of the Court of First Instance; (Replaced 25 of 1998 s. 2)
surrender to custody (歸押) means appearing before the court on being called on the day as shall have been appointed by the court.
(Added 56 of 1994 s. 2)

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

9D. Right of accused person to be admitted to bail
(1) Subject to this section and section 9G, a court shall order an accused person to be admitted to bail, whether he has been committed for trial or not, when—
(a) he appears or is brought before a court in the course of or in connection with proceedings for the offence of which he is accused; or
(b) he applies to the court before which he is accused to be admitted to bail; or
(c) he applies to a judge under section 9J to be admitted to bail.
(2) An order under subsection (1) may be subject to such conditions as appear to the court to be necessary to secure that the person admitted to bail will not—
(a) fail to surrender to custody as the court may appoint; or
(b) commit an offence while on bail; or
(c) interfere with a witness or pervert or obstruct the course of justice.
(3) Without affecting the generality of subsection (2), the court—
(a) may not make it a condition of admission to bail that a recognizance of bail be taken from the person so admitted but may make it a condition, for the purpose only of securing the surrender of that person to custody as the court may appoint, that a recognizance of bail be taken from a surety;
(b) may make it a condition of admission to bail that the person so admitted—
(i) shall surrender to the court any passport or travel document;
(ii) shall not leave Hong Kong;
(iii) shall report to a police station or the offices of the Independent Commission Against Corruption as the court may specify;
(iv) shall reside at a specified address and be present therein between such times as the court may specify;
(v) shall not enter any place or premises as the court may specify;
(vi) shall not go within such distance of any place or premises as the court may specify;
(vii) shall not contact directly or indirectly such person as the court may specify;
(viii) or any person on his behalf or he and any such person shall, for the purpose only of securing the surrender to custody of the person admitted to bail as the court may appoint, deposit with the court such reasonable sum of money as the court may require.
(4) In considering the suitability of a surety for a proposed recognizance of bail under subsection (3)(a), the court shall have regard to—
(a) the surety’s financial resources;
(b) any other matter that appears to the court to be relevant,
and any recognizance of bail taken from a surety under that subsection may, if an order under subsection (1) so directs, be taken before any magistrate or before the Commissioner of Correctional Services, the Deputy Commissioner of Correctional Services or a Senior Superintendent or Superintendent of Correctional Services.

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

9E. Relief from obligation as surety
(1) If on application made to it by a surety from whom a recognizance of bail has been taken a court is satisfied that the surety has reasonable cause to believe that the person for whom he is surety will not surrender to custody as shall have been appointed by the court, the court may order that he be relieved of his obligations as a surety.
(2) On the making of an order under subsection (1), the court shall issue a warrant for the arrest of the person for whom the surety was provided.

9F. Prohibition against agreements to indemnify surety
(1) Any agreement indemnifying or purporting to indemnify any person against any liability which he may incur as a surety to secure the surrender to custody of a person admitted to bail shall be void.
(2) Any person who enters into an agreement of the description mentioned in subsection (1) commits an offence.
(3) An offence under subsection (2) is committed whether the agreement is entered into before or after the person to be indemnified becomes a surety and whether or not he becomes a surety and whether the agreement contemplates compensation in money or money’s worth.
(4) Any person who commits an offence under subsection (2) is liable on summary conviction to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 6 months, and on conviction upon indictment to a fine of any amount and to imprisonment for 12 months. (Amended E.R. 4 of 2021)