Wong Fung-chuen and Others v. The Queen

Case No.CACC 1122/1978
Court
Court of Appeal
Date28 Nov 1979
Judge
Case Document
100%

CACC001122/1978

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL 1978 No. 1122
(Criminal)

BETWEEN
WONG Fung-chuen 1st Appellant
WONG Chun-kwai 2nd Appellant
LAM Chuen-hau 3rd Appellant

AND

THE QUEEN Respondent

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Coram: Huggins, J.A., Cons and Yang, JJ.

Date of Judgment: 28 November 1979

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JUDGMENT

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Huggins, J.A.:

1. Mr. Sparrow now submits, on behalf of the 2nd Appellant, that he has been dealt with unfairly in relation to the sentences imposed upon the other Appellants. The 3rd Appellant was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment and six years' imprisonment for these offences of manufacturing a dangerous drug and possession of a dangerous drug for the purpose of unlawful trafficking. The learned judge thought that the 2nd Appellant was not merely a minor character in this business but that he was one of the organizers and, for that reason, he imposed sentences of thirteen years' imprisonment on the manufacturing charge, eight years for the possession charge and eight years concurrent on an additional charge against this Appellant of being a tenant and permitting the premises to be used for the unlawful manufacture.

2. It is conceded, on behalf of the Crown, that really the only evidence of "organization", if that is a proper word to use, was the fact that this Appellant took the tenancy. It is submitted that this was merely part and parcel of his part in the affair and that it does not justify the conclusion that he was an organizer in the full sense of that word: this was merely his part in the business. He was detailed, as anybody else in the plot could have been detailed, by the true organizer to rent premises in his own name.

3. We incline to the view that there is substance in the objection that there was no real distinction to be drawn on the evidence before the court. Accordingly, we allow the appeal of the 2nd Appellant against sentence and we substitute sentences of ten years' imprisonment on the first charge and six years' on the second and third charges, concurrent.

28th November 1979.