NG SHUN HUNG v. THE QUEEN

CACC000042/1975

 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(APPELLATE JURISDICTION)

 

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 42 OF 1975.

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BETWEEN
	NG SHUN HUNG	Appellant
	and
	THE QUEEN	Respondent

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Coram: Pickering, J.

Date of Judgment: 28th February 1975.

 

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JUDGMENT

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1. This appellant was convicted of robbery and of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He appealed against his convictions and I dismissed the appeals which had involved total sentences of three years imprisonment.

2. The appellant was however, on the day following his original convictions, convicted by another magistrate of the offence of criminal intimidation and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment to be consecutive to the three years to which he had been sentenced upon the previous day. The details of the criminal intimidation were that, having been convicted and sentenced on the robbery and assault charges, he turned, in the court room, to the woman whom he had robbed and assaulted and told her that upon his release he would cut her into pieces with a knife. This threat was accompanied by obscene language. The incident having been interpreted to the learned magistrate, the learned magistrate ordered the appellant to appear before another magistrate in connection therewith.

3. In the event the appellant was on the following day charged with criminal intimidation before another magistrate and, as I have said, sentenced to an additional 18 months imprisonment. In my view it is doubtful if he should have been charged with criminal intimidation rather than that the original magistrate should have dealt with the offence as a contempt of court.

4. However that may be, and accepting the second learned magistrate's finding that the woman in question was put in fear, the sentence was altogether out of proportion to the offence. The appellant had not appealed against sentence and his appeal against this conviction was hopeless but I invited him to apply for leave to appeal against sentence out of time, granted that application, allowed the appeal and substituted for the sentence of imprisonment of 18 months a sentence of four months imprisonment to be consecutive to the sentences imposed upon the appellant in connection with the robbery and assault case.

 

Representation:

Appellant in person.

R.V. Hanson, C.C., for respondent.