Li Wai-wah v. The Queen
Read the full judgment text of CACC 1368/1977 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment.
1. This is an appeal against a sentence of twelve months' imprisonment for burglary. The Appellant was seen in the middle of the night in a shop in Tsimshatsui. He was approached by the police, was asked what he was doing and made no answer. When further questioned he still made no answer. He was, therefore, arrested and taken to the police station. He pleaded guilty to the offence and it was found that he had a clear record. In spite of an absence of previous convictions the learned magistrate
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CACC001368/1977
----------------- Coram: Huggins, J. A. Date of Judgment: 15th February 1978. ----------------- JUDGMENT ----------------- 1. This is an appeal against a sentence of twelve months' imprisonment for burglary. The Appellant was seen in the middle of the night in a shop in Tsimshatsui. He was approached by the police, was asked what he was doing and made no answer. When further questioned he still made no answer. He was, therefore, arrested and taken to the police station. He pleaded guilty to the offence and it was found that he had a clear record. In spite of an absence of previous convictions the learned magistrate thought that it was necessary to impose an immediate custodial sentence because of the nature of the offence and it was clearly intended as a deterrent sentence. All that the Appellant said in mitigation was that he drank too much. 2. Taking the view that he did of the offence the learned magistrate did not call for any reports. When this case came before me I was persuaded by Mr. Rogers that this matter needed further investigation and I have called for a report. This is before me and is very helpful. It appears that this man comes from a family which has a history of mental illness. He himself has not been directly affected so as to require treatment for mental illness but he has, it appears, been drinking very heavily for the past twelve months and I am convinced from this report that he is now suffering from alcoholism and I believe that this probably was the cause of this particular offence. Had the learned magistrate been aware of this he might well have taken a different view and I feel constrained to allow this appeal and I propose to make an order with the Appellant's consent which will enable him to obtain help for his own trouble. I do not think that the sentence of imprisonment would assist him or in the circumstances amount to a deterrent. The learned magistrate has made it clear enough to any others who may be inclined to commit this type of offence what sort of sentence they may expect, but in the present case I propose to set aside the sentence and to make an order of probation for a term of two years. 15th February 1978. Representation: |