R. v. Yeung Chung Lam
Read the full judgment text of CACC 492/1996 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 11 February 1997 before Power Ag. C.J., Bokhary JA, Mayo JA.
Criminal law – robbery – immigration offence – sentence – application for leave to appeal out of time – whether delay in obtaining age evidence from China justified – whether sentence of four years' imprisonment for two counts of robbery and one count of remaining in Hong Kong without permission manifestly excessive or wrong in principle. Held, application is entirely without merit because an application for leave to appeal could have been lodged notwithstanding that the applicant was awaiting receipt of the age evidence – no prospect of success even if leave to proceed out of time were granted – the robberies involved invasion of domestic premises at night with two accomplices and use of a chopper to terrorise female victims – the trial judge mercifully ordered the immigration offence count to run concurrently with the robbery sentences – sentences were neither manifestly excessive nor wrong in principle – application dismissed.
Legal issues: Whether leave to appeal sentence out of time should be granted · Whether the sentence was manifestly excessive or wrong in principle
Outcome: Application for leave to appeal against sentence dismissed.
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CACC000492/1996 IN THE COURT OF APPEAL 1996 No. 492 ______________
______________ Coram: Hon Power Ag. C.J., Bokhary and Mayo, JJ.A. in Court Date of hearing: 11 February 1997 Date of judgment: 11 February 1997 ______________ J U D G M E N T ______________ Mayo, J.A. (giving the judgment of the Court): 1. The applicant seeks leave to appeal against the total sentence of four years' imprisonment imposed upon him for two counts of robbery and one count of remaining in Hong Kong without the permission of the Director of Immigration. 2. The application was not made within the prescribed time limit. The reason given for this was that the applicant claims that he was incorrectly dealt with on the basis that he was aged 25 and that in fact he was only aged 15. He complains that he was unable to obtain evidence from China concerning his age within the allotted time. 3. Before us he produced a certificate apparently issued by a local authority in China which certified that he was born on 1 September 1980. 4. A medical report was before Her Honour Judge Beeson the trial judge. In that report the doctor signing the report states that the applicant declined to give permission to enable tests to be undertaken to determine his true biological age. We invited him now to undergo a similar test and he declined this opportunity. On his application his age is stated to be 20. We therefore proposed proceeding upon the basis of his being a man in his early 20's. 5. This application is entirely without merit. An application could have been lodged notwithstanding the fact that the applicant was awaiting the receipt of the evidence he refers to. 6. It should also be stated that even if we had been minded to grant leave for the application to proceed out of time there is no prospect whatever that it would have been successful. 7. The two robberies involved the invasion of domestic premises at night together with two other men. It also involved the use of a chopper to terrorise lady victims. The judge mercifully ordered that the count for remaining in Hong Kong without the permission of the Director should run concurrently with the robbery sentences. The sentences were neither manifestly excessive nor wrong in principle and this application is dismissed.
Representation: Mr Frank Veltro, Senior Crown Counsel for Crown Yeung Chung Lam - Applicant in person/present |