Read the full judgment text of CACC 000289/1992 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 20 April 1993 before Penlington JA, Nazareth JA, Bokhary JA.
Criminal law – robbery – handling stolen goods – sentencing – young offenders – training centre – bail – three defendants convicted of three armed robberies and one handling charge arising from raids on Mannings Store in Repulse Bay and Wellcome Supermarket in Nathan Road, in which knife-wielding raiders tied, gagged and blindfolded staff and customers, forced safes open at knife point and stole considerable sums together with valuables and identity documents – 2nd defendant, a former policeman in his early thirties, pleaded guilty to two Mannings robberies and was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on each, concurrent – 3rd defendant (aged 16) and 4th defendant (aged 17) pleaded guilty respectively to all three robberies and to one robbery with handling, and were sentenced to 5½ years and to 5 years (with 2 years concurrent for handling) – whether sentences too lenient or too severe – whether detention in a training centre more appropriate than imprisonment for the young offenders – the principal purpose of training centre detention is rehabilitation, but it carries considerable punitive and deterrent elements and may run for up to three years with up to three further years' post-release supervision – young men likely influenced by older co-accused – limiting their contact with older criminals by ordering training centre detention preferable for rehabilitation – sentence of seven years for the 2nd defendant upheld as the most lenient that could be passed without interference – sentences of imprisonment for the 3rd and 4th defendants set aside and replaced by orders for detention in a training centre – Penlington JA's observations on bail: bail in serious cases with strong evidence should only be granted in exceptional circumstances, which were not present, and the grant of bail here was singularly surprising given the overwhelming evidence and the fact that the 3rd accused was still on bail when tried.
Legal issues: Appropriate sentence for 2nd defendant (former policeman) in serious armed robberies · Whether detention in a training centre is appropriate for young offenders convicted of serious armed robberies · Granting of bail in serious cases with strong evidence
Outcome: The 2nd defendant's application for leave to appeal against sentence was dismissed; the 3rd and 4th defendants' applications were allowed to the extent that the sentences of imprisonment were set aside and replaced by orders for detention in a training centre.
Cited by 8 cases