Read the full judgment text of CACC 379/2008 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 22 September 2009 before Tang VP, Cheung JA, Yuen JA.
Criminal law – theft – section 9 Theft Ordinance (Cap. 210) – accounting clerk – unauthorised transfer of US$256,819.29 from employer's ICBC bank account to a third party's account using a blank pre-signed form – sole transaction – bulk of money returned by third party leaving loss of about HK$150,000 – dishonoured repayment cheque by applicant – no personal restitution – whether the conviction should be set aside – whether the sentence of 3 years 6 months was manifestly excessive – sentencing guidelines in HKSAR v Cheung Mee Kiu CACC 99/2006 as adjusted by HKSAR v Ng Kwok Wing CACC 398/2007 – HK$250,000 to HK$1 million band giving 2 to 3 years – Barrick factors – impact on victim and number of transactions – application for leave to appeal against conviction dismissed as no substantial ground shown and the trial judge's finding of fact was unassailable – appeal against sentence allowed and 3 years 6 months substituted with 3 years 2 months, an approximate 10% reduction reflecting the limited actual loss and the single-transaction, single-victim character of the offence.
Legal issues: Whether the conviction for theft under s.9 Theft Ordinance should be set aside · Whether the sentence of 3 years 6 months was manifestly excessive
Outcome: Application for leave to appeal against conviction dismissed; appeal against sentence allowed and original sentence of 3 years 6 months substituted with 3 years 2 months (about 10% reduction).
Cited by 30 cases · Cites 2 cases