Wong Kam Shing v. The Queen

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 99 OF 1973

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Coram: Huggins, McMullin & Pickering, JJ.

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JUDGMENT

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Huggins, J.:

1.  The single judge refused leave to the Appellant to appeal against his sentences of twenty months’ imprisonment consecutive on three counts. They were violent robberies. In the first case somebody had an arm put round his neck while somebody else took his property: in another one the victim was hit from behind and then he was strangled from behind and in the third the person was strangled on a staircase.

2.  The Appellant has a long record of previous convictions, including eight robberies - some with aggravation - and seven thefts of property taken from the person. Although the learned judge appreciated that this was the maximum sentence which he could impose in the District Court he thought the sentences were proper and we see no reason to disagree.

3.  The application for leave to appeal is dismissed but we would add one word. In the course of the trial part of the evidence was a receipt, which was to be produced to identify one of the watches. The learned judge referred to a previous decision of this Court in WONG Hing-chung v. Reg. Cr. App. No. 450 of 1971 and expressed doubt about the correctness of that decision. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that he should have cast such doubts without hearing full argument, and all we wish to say is that the two members of this Court who sat upon that appeal see no reason at present to doubt the correctness of what was said on that occasion.

4th May 1973.