Read the full judgment text of CACC 000216/1999 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 7 July 1999 before Nazareth VP, Stuart-Moore VP, Woo J.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Domestic burglary – Starting point of three years' imprisonment – Aggravating feature of burglary committed in early hours of the morning while house occupied – Whether sentencing judge may pay lip-service to Court of Appeal guidance and depart from it without sound reasons – Held, no; sound reasons required – Immaterial factors such as saving of court time in a short case, clear record of little weight in the case of an illegal immigrant, and physical disability seldom justifying reduction for serious crime – 50% discount on three-year starting point for burglary not warranted where defendant contested the case and gave no assistance – Sentencing for remaining in Hong Kong without authority following R v So Man King and HKSAR v Wong Ting Wah – Sentence should normally run consecutively to substantive offence absent compelling circumstances – Residents of Hong Kong, particularly in the New Territories, entitled to feel their homes are safe – Section 83I(3) Criminal Procedure Ordinance – Appeal against conviction dismissed – Appeal against sentence allowed – 18 months' sentence on burglary charge quashed and replaced with 3 years' imprisonment – 6 months on second charge to run consecutively – Total 3 years 6 months' imprisonment
Legal issues: Sufficiency of reasons for departing from Court of Appeal sentencing guidance for domestic burglary · Proper starting point and reductions for domestic burglary committed by an illegal immigrant · Whether the sentence for unlawful remaining in Hong Kong should run consecutively to the burglary sentence
Outcome: Application for leave to appeal against conviction dismissed; appeal against sentence allowed. Sentence of 18 months on Charge 1 (burglary) quashed and replaced with 3 years' imprisonment; 6 months on Charge 2 (unlawful remaining) to run consecutively, making a total of 3 years 6 months' imprisonment.
Cited by 17 cases