THE QUEEN v. LEE KWOK-KEUNG

CACC000697/1983

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

1983, No. 697 (Criminal)

BETWEEN

The Queen   and   LEE Kwok-keung __________

Coram: McMullin, V.-P., Li & Silke, JJ.A.

Date: 30th September 1983

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JUDGMENT

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Silke, J.A.:

1. The applicant seeks leave to appeal against his sentence of five years' imprisonment imposed after a plea of guilty to a charge of conspiracy to rob. That plea of guilty was entered in the course of the trial after voir dire proceedings.

2. It is briefly the case for the Crown that the applicant, together with two other men, prepared and agreed to commit a robbery. The 1st and the 2nd accused in the case were arrested prior to that robbery actually taking place. They had a gun. The applicant was the driver for the getaway. There was no direct evidence to show that he knew that a gun would be used in the course of the robbery.

3. The trial judge gave an allowance for his plea although that was, perhaps, a somewhat generous attitude to take.

4. The applicant's grounds of appeal are really compassionate. They are grounds which he should have borne in mind before he considered committing the offence.

5. To say to us here today that he had obtained a loan from someone which he was unable to repay and therefore he committed this offence is, if anything, aggravation of the offence rather than mitigation.

6. There is no substance in this application and it will be dismissed.

7. But before I leave the matter, I would like to make one comment and that is to endorse that which the trial judge said in passing sentence: this particular conspiracy being a conspiracy at Common Law carries a maximum seven years' imprisonment whereas for example, a conspiracy in relation to dangerous drugs, carries a substantial maximum of itself.

8. He felt that the seven-year maximum for an offence of this kind was too low and suggested to the Attorney General that he might wish to consider it. We would endorse that recommendation.

9. There is no merit whatsoever in this appeal, we would direct loss of time. That is that 100 days of the period between the filing of the application for leave and today will not count towards sentence

Representation:

Applicant in person.

I .M. Duguid, Esq. for Crown/Respondent.