Conspiracy and Soliciting to Commit Murder

Conspiracy and Soliciting to Commit Murder

Under section 5 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212), to conspire, confederate and agree within Hong Kong to murder another person, and to solicit, encourage, persuade, endeavour to persuade or propose to another within Hong Kong that he murder any other person, are offences punishable by life imprisonment. 

Conspiracy to murder is governed by the general common law principles relating to conspiracy. 

As for soliciting (inciting) murder, according to Court of Appeal authority, the offence may be established even where the defendant's words of incitement are general in nature and not directed at any particular individual. Both the Hong Kong and English legislation refer to the murder of "any other person", so the offence is made out so long as the words of incitement are intended to encourage conduct that would amount to murder as defined. 

The establishment of the offence of incitement to murder requires actual communication between the defendant and the person incited, that is, the incitement must reach the person incited; whether the mind of the person incited was in fact influenced by that communication is immaterial to conviction, because the offence is complete once the incitement is communicated, regardless of whether the person incited accepts or acts upon it. However, if the incitement never reaches the person incited (for example, where the message of incitement fails to be delivered), the complete offence of incitement to murder cannot be established for want of such communication, but the defendant may still be charged with the inchoate offence of attempted incitement to murder. 

An article published in a newspaper may constitute incitement to murder even if it is not directed at any particular individual. If the jury finds that the defendant did have the intent to incite, and that the incitement was the natural and reasonable effect of the article, they may find the defendant guilty. 

As to sentencing for this offence, upon conviction the defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment and is very likely to face a lengthy term of imprisonment.