HKSAR v. AMINI, ABBAS

HCMA 387/2010

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

MAGISTRACY APPEAL NO. 387 OF 2010

(ON APPEAL FROM KTCC 4806 OF 2009)

____________

_______________

J U D G M E N T

_______________

1.  This Appellant, a man of previous good character in his mid-30s, was convicted after trial in the Magistrates’ Court on a charge of indecency in public, and sentenced to 21 days’ imprisonment. He now appeals against his conviction and sentence.

2.  The Appellant has sought to place fresh materials before me on this appeal, including two documents which have been handed up to me today.  I have admitted these fresh materials since excluding them might have caused the Appellant to doubt the justice of the proceedings.

3.  The Appellant has also produced various written submissions in support of his appeal against conviction and sentence; and today he has handed up his written reply in response to the Respondent’s written submission. I have considered all of them carefully.

4.  As far as the fresh materials are concerned, as it turns out, none of these materials is really relevant - they go to matters which are either not in dispute or are not pertinent to any issue. 

5.  As far as conviction is concerned, it was a question of whether the evidence of the woman to whom the Appellant was alleged to have exposed himself was certainly true or whether the Appellant’s evidence denying that was or might be true. 

6.  The Magistrate, who saw and heard the witnesses, concluded that the truth was what that woman has testified.  I find no error in how he went about arriving at that conclusion.  The appeal against conviction is dismissed.

7.  As far as the appeal against sentence is concerned, the Magistrate gave careful consideration to the circumstances and has arrived at a sentence which I do not feel able to say was too severe.  The appeal against sentence is also dismissed.