Chan Ying v. The Queen

CACC000596/1974

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 596 OF 1974

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Coram: Briggs, C.J.

Date of Judgment: 3 September. 1974.

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JUDGMENT

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1. The appellant was found guilty of being in possession of dangerous drugs for the purpose of unlawful trafficking. The amount involved was the smallest amount to bring into operation the presumption under section 46 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. The appellant was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment.

2. The appellant appealed against conviction. No real ground was advanced by the appellant to enable his appeal to succeed. In his findings, the magistrate referred to the fact that the appellant had not gone into the witness box in order to give evidence on his own behalf. The appellant was unrepresented before the magistrate. The magistrate said that if the appellant had gone into the witness box and had said the drug was for his own consumption he would almost certainly have believed him. In which case there would have been a conviction for simple possession and not for possession for the purpose of unlawful trafficking.

3. I think the magistrate was perfectly right in the conclusion he came to in this case and the reasons he gave for the sentence of eighteen months' imprisonment were perfectly sound. However, in all the circumstances of this case I think justice would best be done were the sentence to be halved. Accordingly, I granted leave to appeal against sentence out of time and substituted a sentence of nine months' for the sentence of eighteen months' imprisonment.

Representation:

Appellant in person.

Corrigan, S.C.C. for Crown/Respondent.