CHOI MAN-KWONG v. THE QUEEN
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CACC000818/1974
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG
(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 818 OF 1974
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| BETWEEN | ||
| CHOI Man-kwong | Appellant | |
| and | ||
| The Queen | Respondent |
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Coram: Huggins, McMullin and Pickering, JJ.
Date of Judgment: 5th December 1974
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JUDGMENT
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Huggins, J.:
1. This is an appeal against sentences of one year's imprisonment for robbery and two years' imprisonment for wounding with intent consecutive.
2. A man who was on his way to his vegetable fields to work at 6 o'clock in the morning was waylaid by two men, one of whom was the Appellant. One, who was armed with a wooden rod, grabbed the man by the neck: the other, who was holding a knife, tried to cover his mouth with his hand. They tried to press him on to the ground but he struggled. He was then chopped and hit with the wooden rod. He shouted for help and thereupon further blows with the knife and the rod were rained upon him, until he fainted.
3. The medical report is quite horrifying and shows seven serious wounds - one of them six centimetres deep and one five centimetres deep. The permanent disability to the victim has not been assessed, but there is no doubt that this was a particularly vicious attack.
4. In another case we have just reduced sentences of 4 ½ years' imprisonment for robberies with no weapon and no appreciable violence to three years'. This offence is not comparable to those offences and yet this Appellant has a total of three years' imprisonment.
5. He has previous convictions but they are not what one might call serious and apart from one offence of smoking opium he has no conviction since 1963. We are prepared to treat this Appellant as a first offender but we are quite unable to accept that these sentences were proper sentences.
6. We allow the appeal and the sentences are increased to four years' imprisonment on each charge concurrent.
5th December 1974
Representation: