R. v. WONG CHI KEUNG

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

1992, No. 439
(Criminal)

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J U D G M E N T

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Hon Yang, CJ:

1. This is an application for leave to appeal against sentence out of time.

2. The applicant was convicted after trial before Judge Moylan on a charge of kidnapping and sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment.

3. Briefly, the facts were that a group of 4 men forced a lady victim into a vehicle. They asked her whether her husband was surnamed Lam and they said that her husband owed their elder brother some gambling debts. One man took away her I/D card and disappeared. The victim was then taken to a stone hut, where she was tied to a folding chair with a nylon string and blindfolded. The men then left the hut, closing the door behind them but without locking it. She was able to free herself in a few minutes and escape from the hut.

4. It must be said at the outset that any form of kidnapping must be regarded as a grave offence. The original sentence imposed was in our view already on the light side, but subsequent events enable us today to take a fresh look at the sentence. We are told, and this is not disputed by the Crown, that after his conviction he expressed his willingness to give information regarding the other culprits. And it is accepted by the Crown that as a result of his cooperation and the information given, the mastermind was arrested and convicted, and sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment. One other man is due to be tried in January next year and the third man has absconded. In the light of the assistance given by the applicant to the authorities, we are of the view that credit should be given. Under Section 83I, Sub-section (3), of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, and having regard to all the circumstances of the case, we allow the application, treat the hearing of the application as hearing of the appeal, and allow the appeal against sentence by reducing the sentence of 3 years to one of 2 years.