Read the full judgment text of CACC 000230/2001 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 7 March 2002 before Stuart-Moore Ag CJHC, Woo JA and Stock JA.
Criminal law – sentencing – theft – breach of trust – personal secretary forging employer's signatures on cheques – nine counts of theft totalling $430,000 and one count of attempted theft of $2 million – guilty plea to all charges – whether overall sentence of 24 months manifestly excessive – totality principle – multiplicity of offences – good character / clear record – one-third discount for guilty plea – sentencing guidelines for breach of trust – Trevor Clark guidelines – R v Barrick (1985) 81 Cr App R 78 – R v Trevor Clark [1998] 2 Cr App R 137 – Secretary for Justice v Wong Kay-din CAAR 7/1998 (unreported) – HKSAR v Chan Kai-chung CACC 12/2001 (unreported) – whether full repayment of stolen funds to victim warrants an additional discount beyond the one-third for guilty plea – compensation and restitution as mitigation – appeal allowed in part – sentence reduced from 24 to 18 months – starting point 3 years, overall 50% discount (one-third for plea plus additional discount for full compensation).
Legal issues: Whether the overall sentence of 24 months was manifestly excessive · Whether full repayment of compensation warrants an additional discount beyond the one-third for guilty plea
Outcome: Appeal allowed in part; overall sentence reduced from 24 months to 18 months' imprisonment.
Cited by 32 cases · Cites 2 cases