THE QUEEN v. TANG KWOK WAI

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(Appellate Jurisdiction)

MAGISTRACY APPEAL NO. 108 OF 1996

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J U D G M E N T

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1. This was an appeal against a sentence of 18 months for a series of offences involving the defrauding of the Standard Chartered Bank of $33,000.

2. The Appellant had forged documents and had obtained a credit card by use of these forged documents and had used the credit card to obtain credit of up to $33,000.

3. In his Reasons for Sentence, the learned Magistrate said this :-

"However the offences were serious involving fraud on a bank. They were premeditated offences with planning though not sophisticated. A term of imprisonment was inevitable. Taking into account of all mitigating factors and the principle that a first term of imprisonment should be as short as possible, I thought the circumstances warranted a term of eighteen months imprisonment."

Since the learned Magistrate imposed this sentence the Appellant has returned $20,000 to the bank. I considered the sentence of 18 months was unnecessarily severe, given the mitigating circumstances which existed including the Appellant's plea of guilty and the fact that the offences were committed when he was under tremendous financial pressure. Taking all things into account, I thought a sentence of nine months for each offence was sufficient in this case, and I allowed the appeal accordingly, all sentences to be concurrent.