Read the full judgment text of CAAR 000011/1993 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 25 January 1994 before Bokhary JA, Wong J, Ryan J.
Criminal law – indecent assault – section 122(1) Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200) – sentence – review by Attorney General – indecent assault on a crowded Kowloon and Canton Railway train during morning rush hour – respondent, a factory worker of previous good character, used his fingers to molest a woman's private parts four to five times, then forcibly pressed her hand against his own lower body – whether a mere fine was an appropriate sentence – Court of Appeal guidelines in Attorney General v. Wai Yan-shun [1991] 2 HKLR 209 that for a first offence the 'clang of prison gates' should be the normal sentencing option, with 14 to 28 days' imprisonment depending on the facts – increase of the maximum penalty for indecent assault from 5 to 10 years' imprisonment did not warrant revision of those guidelines – guidelines cover short terms counted by weeks for a first offence and months for a second offence – fine wrong in principle and manifestly inadequate – application for review allowed – fine set aside and sentence of 28 days' imprisonment substituted.
Legal issues: Adequacy of fine for indecent assault on crowded train under Wai Yan-shun guidelines
Outcome: Application for review of sentence allowed; fine set aside and replaced with 28 days' imprisonment.