HKSAR v. Le Van Tien

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

(Appellate Jurisdiction)

MAGISTRACY APPEAL NO. 165 OF 1998

(On appeal from TMC 253 of 1998)

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Coram: The Honourable Mrs Justice V. Bokhary in Court

Date of Hearing: 26 March 1998

Date of Judgment: 26 March 1998

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J U D G M E N T

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1. This Appellant, a man in his late 20's, appeared before S.J. Geiser, Esquire in the Magistrate's Court sitting at Tuen Mun on the 23rd January 1998 and pleaded guilty to one charge of possession of a forged Vietnamese refugee card and one charge of escaping from detention centre.

2. On the 27th January this year, he was sentenced by the Magistrate to a total of six months' imprisonment for the two offences. In his Reasons for Sentence, the Magistrate said this:

"In sentencing the Appellant, I took into account his plea of guilty to the charges. In so far as the first charge was concerned I took a starting point of nine months' imprisonment, but reduced that to six months to take account of his plea of guilty to the charge. I gave him a further reduction of two months' imprisonment to take account of the question of totality of sentence having regard to the fact that he was currently serving a sentence of eight months. On the second charge, I sentenced the Appellant to two months' imprisonment which I ordered to run consecutively to the sentence of four months that I had imposed on the first charge, making a sentence of six months in all. These sentences I ordered to run consecutively to the terms of imprisonment that the Appellant was currently serving."

3. The Appellant appeals against his sentences. In his Notice of his Appeal against Sentence, his general grounds of appeal are that the sentences were too severe.

4. In court, he urged me to reduce his sentences on humanitarian grounds saying that he has to return to Vietnam to look after his aged father who is ill and also his two younger brothers. I am not persuaded of the genuineness of what he has told me about these matters.

5. In all the circumstances of this case, I consider that the Appellant has not been dealt with too severely at all; and I see no strong humanitarian grounds for me to reduce the sentences.

6. The appeal is dismissed.

Representation:

Mr Wesley W.C. Wong, Senior Government Counsel, for the Respondent.

Appellant, present in person.