The Former Fanling Magistracy
The story of the Fanling Magistracy
Post WWII Hong Kong was a place of booming industry and commerce. With that also came the problem of crime. The New Territories then was not unlike the wild, wild west, where hooligans and drug lords ran rampant. It was with this background that the colonial government saw the need for proper law enforcement in the New Territories.
The government decided to build the first New Territories Magistracy and it opened in 1861. As time progressed, more of other magistracies were established in the New Territories. This first one then became the Fanling Magistracy. In the same year, the colonial government passed a law to extend the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to the Fanling Magistracy. This would be a pivotal development in Hong Kong’s judicial history, as it ushered in the era of common law application in the New Territories.
The Fanling Magistracy was busy with trials in its earliest days. The first case on trail was a drug case, and thereafter other cases of gambling, traffic offenses and burglaries. Over the years, additional structures provided the necessary facilities for other judicial functions, including a duty lawyers’ office. Due to the growing workload and population, there was an increasing need for more support facilities, “such as public witness rooms, public consultation rooms, separate facilities for the reporters and lawyers, etc.” (Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme). The government built the new Fanling Law Courts Building on Pik Fung Road behind the Former Fanling Magistracy in the same block. The Former Fanling Magistracy finally completed its historic role in 2002.
The magistracies in Hong Kong have a limited criminal jurisdiction of two years’ imprisonment and $100,000 fine. The petty crimes are tried in open court in these magistracies. They also serve as the court of first appearance for serious and indictable criminal offenses. Therefore, all criminal proceedings begin at the magistracies in Hong Kong.
The Fanling Magistracy has retained its classic appearance even after it no longer served its judiciary purpose. During the time that it was closed between 2003-2010, it became the setting for a number of movies and TV dramas. The most well-known one is Internal Affairs II.
Architectural Features
The Commissioner for the Heritage’s Office of the Hong Kong Government has included a description of the Former Fanling Magistracy’s architectural feature. I shall quote it here:
The double canopied projecting bay with storeys high vertical windows dominates the front facade and gives a simplified version of the neo-classical architecture. The side facades also feature neo-classical motif, corbel and moulded architraved doorways. The internal atrium lit by a central light well houses a grand staircase with ornamental ironwork balustrades leading to upper floors courtrooms. The court was built with more economical finishing materials of the era, such as terrazzo tiles, mosaic tiles, artificial granite tiles and stucco painting. (The Commissioner for the Heritage’s Office on Former Fanling Magistracy)
The Former Fanling Magistracy as a Heritage Site
The Fanling Magistracy has the status of a Grade 3 Historic Building as the Antiquities Advisory Board has determined in 2010. The revitalization effort encompassed the group of five buildings on-site, including the Former Fanling Magistracy, the Duty Lawyers’ Office, the Annex Court Building, and two small blocks accommodating building services facilities.
As a heritage site, the Former Fanling Magistracy now hosts a small exhibition on its own history. It is also home for the Hong Kong Federation Youth Groups Leadership Institute. The HKFYG Leadership Insititue helped revitalize the building via Batch III of the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme. The revitalization completed in 2018.
The former detention cells now serve as the breakout meeting rooms for the Institute. The former setup does remain and visitors can still get a pretty good feeling of how it was like.
One courtroom has been preserved, and I took a look. It does give off this very classic feeling of the Hong Kong courts.
It is sad for me to report that the social enterprise coffee shop on-site, which has garnered a bit of popularity during its lifetime, has closed down in 2022. I do hope that there will be a new, similar tenant in the location. I hope that in my next visit I can have a relaxed afternoon there with coffee in my hand.
How to Get There
From the Fanling MTR Station, you may walk about 10 minutes to reach the Former Fanling Magistracy on Jockey Club Road. The address is No. 302, Jockey Club Road.
Outside of the Former Fanling Magistracy on Jockey Club Road, there is a bus stop with both minibuses and buses running between Sheung Shui and Fanling. Bus Routes 73, 79K and 373 stop there.
Sources
Historic descriptions on-site.
The Commissioner for the Heritage’s Office on the Former Fanling Magistracy.
Revitalisaing Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme, Former Fanling Magistracy Resource Kit, Heritage Office.