Common Assault

Common Assault

Common assault is a common law offence and is punishable under section 40 of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212).

Common assault encompasses two separate offences: assault and battery. 

• Assault is an offence whereby the defendant, intentionally or recklessly, causes another to apprehend immediate and unlawful violence. 
• Battery, on the other hand, is the offence in which a defendant, intentionally or recklessly, inflicts unlawful force on another person.

The offence of common assault includes the following elements:

Either

• An act causing another person to apprehend immediate and unlawful violence (‘assault’); OR
• An act causing the application of unlawful force on another person (‘battery’);

AND

The person committing the act must have done it on purpose or without concern for the consequences.