Read the full judgment text of CACC 000232/2001 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 15 March 2002 before Stuart-Moore VP, Mayo VP, Burrell J.
Criminal law – sentencing – attempted burglary – whether sentencing judge erred in failing to consider a community service order as an alternative to imprisonment – whether three years' imprisonment manifestly excessive or wrong in principle – application for leave to appeal against sentence – dismissed. The applicant was convicted after trial in the District Court before Judge Yung of attempted burglary and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. In the early hours of 5 December 2000, a resident of a house in the Europa Garden Complex at Lok Ma Chau saw a man outside her window and alerted security officers, who saw a man trying to hide before he ran away. Police found the applicant hiding in nearby bushes. Upon caution, the applicant said his property had become a negative asset and he could not pay the mortgage, so he turned to burglary. He later made a self-written cautioned statement with admissions. The applicant had previous good character. The court held that a community service order is appropriate for burglary or attempted burglary only in the most exceptional case, and no exceptional circumstances existed. HKSAR v Chow Chak-man [1999] 2 HKC 659 was distinguished as an exceptional case where the judge had himself called for a CSO report, giving the defendant a justifiable expectation. Three years is the normal sentence after trial for such an offence, and no reduction was warranted for the attempt. The sentence was neither manifestly excessive nor wrong in principle. Application for leave to appeal against sentence dismissed.
Legal issues: Failure to consider community service order for attempted burglary · Whether three years' imprisonment was manifestly excessive or wrong in principle
Outcome: Application for leave to appeal against sentence dismissed
Cited by 13 cases