Mr John Graeme Hagon, instructed by Messrs Jal N Karbhari & Co. (assigned by DLA)
HCCC 212A/2010
HCCC212/2010
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 212 OF 2010
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Transcript of the Audio Recording of the Sentence in the above Case
COURT: Camara Joseph, I have taken into account everything urged on your behalf by your counsel. All things considered, I adopt a sentencing starting point of 18 years.
Even for your guilty plea alone, you would be entitled to a discount of one-third. In addition to that plea, you have offered to give evidence for the prosecution against your co-accused. The value of your offer is not diminished by anything said to me by prosecuting counsel in explaining, or attempting to explain, why your offer was refused. Whatever else that refusal might reflect adversely upon, it does not reflect adversely on your offer. It is not your fault that your offer was refused. Adding your offer to your guilty plea, I give you a discount which will reduce the 18-year starting point to 10½ years. Your previous good character is of little assistance to you on sentence but I will not wholly ignore it. Nor will I wholly ignore the fact that you will, in serving your sentence of imprisonment here, be doing so far from your home and your family and largely among persons who are foreign to you. That is an additional hardship. All things considered, I sentence you to 10 years' imprisonment.
Even for your guilty plea alone, you would be entitled to a discount of one-third. In addition to that plea, you have offered to give evidence for the prosecution against your co-accused. The value of your offer is not diminished by anything said to me by prosecuting counsel in explaining, or attempting to explain, why your offer was refused. Whatever else that refusal might reflect adversely upon, it does not reflect adversely on your offer. It is not your fault that your offer was refused.
Adding your offer to your guilty plea, I give you a discount which will reduce the 18-year starting point to 10½ years.
Your previous good character is of little assistance to you on sentence but I will not wholly ignore it. Nor will I wholly ignore the fact that you will, in serving your sentence of imprisonment here, be doing so far from your home and your family and largely among persons who are foreign to you. That is an additional hardship.
All things considered, I sentence you to 10 years' imprisonment.