Cheung Lam and Another v. The Queen

CACC001106/1974

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1106 OF 1974

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Coram: Briggs, C.J., Huggins & McMullin, JJ.

Date of Judgment: 30th April, 1975.

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JUDGMENT

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1. The appellants, who are husband and wife, were found guilty of being in possession of dangerous drugs for the purpose of unlawful trafficking and were each sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. The court dismissed their appeal against conviction but they also appealed against their sentences.

2. This was a bad case, but it is safe to say that the part the appellants took in the drug trafficking was that of storekeepers. There were found in their possession something like 30,000 grammes of dangerous drugs. The first appellant, the husband, is aged 63, his wife is aged 63. The first appellant is very nearly totally blind and the second appellant, as his wife, may be said to be very much under the influence of her husband. We think that seven years is a very heavy sentence for somebody so afflicted as is the first appellant and we do not think that the learned trial judge gave sufficient weight to this point. Counsel for the appellants, when addressing the court made it quite clear that there is no doubt at all that the first appellant is nearly totally blind, though this was not fully apparent in the court below.

3. In the circumstances, we think it right to reduce the sentences in each case to one of five years' imprisonment and we order accordingly.

Representation:

P. Yu (Woo, Kwan, Lee & Lo) for appellants.

Carolan for respondent.