Yeung Chi Ming v. The Queen

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 235 OF 1973

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JUDGMENT

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1.  The Appellant pleaded Not Guilty to possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. The evidence against him was that he was seen in the street acting in a furtive manner and that when he was searched a knife was found tucked into the waistband of his trousers. Although upon arraignment he answered that he intended to use the dagger to defend himself, upon his trial he chose to give no evidence of any kind and it was inevitable that he was found guilty.

2.  The Appellant had been before the court on four previous occasions.  He was placed on probation for eighteen months for larceny and during the period of his probation he committed further offences.  He was sent to a Training Centre for robbery with aggravation and was subsequently sent to prison on three charges of robbery, a number of other charges of robbery and assault with intent to rob being taken into consideration.  He had been out of prison for only a month at the time of this offence.  This last was a matter which the learned magistrate thought aggravated rather than mitigated the offence.  He ascertained that in each of the robberies for which the Appellant had previously been convicted he had threatened the victims with a knife and that a knife had been used in respect of the offences of assault with intent to rob.

3.  The learned magistrate fully appreciated that he was imposing the maximum sentence for this offence and stated that he considered an exemplary sentence was appropriate.  I am quite unable to say that he was wrong and this appeal is dismissed.

25th April 1973.