R. v. Chan Kei Kwong

CACC000398/1995

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

1995, No. 398
(Criminal)

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Coram: Hon Power, V.-P. and Mayo, J.A.

Date of hearing: 6 October 1995

Date of judgment: 6 October 1995

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J U D G M E N T

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Mayo, J.A. (giving the judgment of the Court):

1. The applicant seeks leave to appeal against the total of four years' imprisonment imposed upon him for three burglaries.

2. Each of the burglaries occurred at domestic roof-top premises in Kowloon. The applicant was caught red-handed at one of the premises. He pleaded guilty to all the offences and made cautioned statements to the police.

3. It is evident that the applicant has a bad record. Indeed on his own admission he is a "habitual offender".

4. The way that Judge Bailey approached sentencing the applicant was to give him credit for his guilty plea and then have regard to the totality principle in sentencing him to 2½ years' imprisonment on the first charge and 9 months each on the other two charges to be served consecutively.

5. This achieved a similar result to ordering longer sentences on the latter two charges and ordering that they should partially run concurrently with the sentence imposed on the first charge.

6. An overall sentence of four years' imprisonment for three burglaries is by no means excessive for a person with a record such as the applicant. There is nothing which the applicant has said to us persuades us that the learned judge was in any way wrong in passing the sentences he did. We would dismiss this application.

Representation:

Ms Wong Kam Hing for Crown Prosecutor

Chan Kei-kwong, Applicant - in person/present