NG HOI LEUNG v. R.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

1995, No. 399
(Criminal)

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J U D G M E N T

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Mayo, J.A. (giving the judgment of the Court):

1. The applicant seeks leave to appeal against the sentences of three years for robbery and 15 months for remaining in Hong Kong as an illegal immigrant which were ordered to run consecutively.

2. The facts were quite straight-forward. The victim and his lady friend were sitting in a park at Lai Chi Kok. They were approached by two men holding knives who demanded their valuables. The victim gave the men $50 and his wrist watch. The men then escaped.

3. A report was made to the police. When the victims were leaving the police station they saw two men being brought into the station by police officers. They identified one of the men as being one of the robbers and the main victim was able to identify his wrist watch which had been found in possession of the other man.

4. The applicant pleaded guilty to both charges at the earliest opportunity.

5. His Honour Judge Gould adopted four-and-a-half years' imprisonment as the starting point on the robbery charge. He gave the applicant a discount of 33% for his guilty plea. He sentenced the applicant to 15 months' imprisonment on the immigration charge and ordered that the sentences should be served consecutively.

6. In his grounds of appeal the applicant refers to his impoverished and unfortunate background in China and says that his motive for robbery was hunger. He had only recently arrived in Hong Kong and had encountered difficult circumstances.

7. Before us he did not add anything of any great significance. The sentences were not manifestly excessive or wrong in principle and accordingly the application is dismissed.