Ho Fook Pang v. The Queen

CACC000336/1971

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 336 OF 1971

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Coram: Huggins, J.

Date of Judgment: 14th July, 1971.

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JUDGMENT

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1. The Appellant was charged under s.27 of the Theft Ordinance with going equipped for stealing. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. He appeals against that sentence.

2. The Appellant was seen by two police officers acting in a suspicious manner in the street. They kept him under observation for some time and then arrested him. Upon searching him they found an iron rod 5 inches in length in his right hand and, upon being questioned, the Appellant admitted that he intended to use it to crack jade bracelets on the wrists or women in the street and that he intended to steal the broken pieces.

3. When brought before the court he asked that another offence be taken into consideration, that offence consisting in the successful theft of pieces of broken bracelets which he himself had broken in the manner which he was contemplating in relation to the substantive offence. The bracelet that he stole on that occasion was valued at $800.

4. The Appellant has been before the courts on numerous previous occasions and the offences with which he has been charged included a number of larcenies from the person, robbery with aggravation and loitering offences. For his first offences he was treated with considerable leniency and on two occasions he has been bound over to be of good behaviour. On both those occasions he committed further offences within a matter of a few weeks.

5. In all the circumstances I think that this sentence of nine months' imprisonment was justifiable and the appeal is dismissed.

14th July, 1971.

Representation: