WONG KEUNG v. THE QUEEN
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CACC000326/1971
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG
(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 326 OF 1971
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| BETWEEN | ||
| WONG KEUNG | Appellant | |
| and | ||
| THE QUEEN | Respondent |
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Coram: Huggins, J.
Date of Judgment: 30th June, 1971.
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JUDGMENT
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1. This is an appeal against a sentence of 9 months' imprisonment for going equipped for stealing. The Appellant was seen in circumstances which led some detectives to think that he was about to pick pockets. He was stopped and searched and a piece of razor blade was found in his right hand. He admitted that he was intending to use it for stealing from pockets.
2. This is by no means the first occasion on which the Appellant has been convicted of similar offences. Nevertheless the Chief Justice has pointed out that this type of offence was previously dealt with under sections for which the maximum penalty was 3 months' imprisonment. It is desirable that defendants should be treated in a similar way for similar offences and I think that I ought in this case to follow the course which he had adopted and to allow the appeal to the extent of reducing the sentences to 6 months' imprisonment concurrent on each count. In so doing I record the argument of counsel for the Crown, which of course is a valid one, that under this section every case must be dealt with on its merits. An accused person found in possession of equipment suitable for stealing from a bank cannot expect to be treated in the same way as a person going equipped for picking pockets.
30th June, 1971.
Representation: