HKSAR v. TONG KIM LUNG

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

1994, No.600
(Criminal)

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J U D G M E N T

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Power, V.-P. (giving the judgment of the Court):

1. In this matter the applicant abandoned his appeal against sentence on 31^st March 1995. He had been dealt with before Deputy Judge Jones on 9^th November 1994. He had pleaded guilty to one count of robbery. He sought leave on 13^th March 1997, some two years later, to have his abandonment treated as a nullity. No reason was advanced as to this application. He has today told us that he only recently learnt that he was entitled to appear in person. He states in his written application that his ground of appeal would be that his sentence is too severe because he surrendered himself to the police.

2. There has been no proper ground advanced by him that would allow us to treat his abandonment as a nullity and that application is refused.

3. When so doing we make it plain that we have looked at circumstances of the offence. It was a robbery in company, at night of persons in domestic premises. Initially a knife was used and then the defendant and the other robber armed themselves with choppers. There were threats of chopping to death. The sentence imposed while a severe one was in the circumstances proper. We make these observations in order to make it plain that we have, when refusing to allow him to treat the abandonment as a nullity, had in mind that there was no merit in the application.