Read the full judgment text of CACC 000165/1999 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 13 October 1999 before Stuart-Moore, V.-P., Leong & Wong, JJ.A..
Criminal law – indecent assault – on a child aged 8 by a medical practitioner – gross breach of trust – starting point of four years' imprisonment – discount of 37.5% for early guilty plea – whether starting point manifestly excessive – whether discount insufficient – role of previous good character, remorse and loss of professional livelihood in sentencing for sexual offences – analogous treatment of indecent assault by school teachers and doctors – exemplary sentences to deter and reflect public abhorrence – sentence of 2½ years' imprisonment upheld – application for leave to appeal against sentence dismissed. Sentence: starting point 4 years; discount 37.5% (slightly more than the usual one-third); final sentence 2½ years' imprisonment. The Court of Appeal held that a medical practitioner stands in a position of trust towards child patients not dissimilar to that of a school teacher, and no distinction should be drawn for sentencing purposes between indecent assaults committed by doctors and those committed by teachers. The applicant's good character, genuine remorse and personal tragedy of loss of his medical career were of minor weight in sentencing for a sexual offence of this gravity. The trial judge was right to take a starting point of four years, which the Court of Appeal considered might well have been higher, and the 37.5% discount for the early guilty plea that spared the child victim from giving evidence was adequate.
Legal issues: Whether the starting point of four years' imprisonment was manifestly excessive for indecent assault on a child by a doctor in breach of trust · Whether the 37.5% discount on the early guilty plea was insufficient
Outcome: Application for leave to appeal against sentence dismissed.
Cited by 8 cases