R. v. LI CHI WAI

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

1996, No. 227
(Criminal)

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J U D G M E N T

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

1. On 13 March 1996 the applicant was convicted of two offences, first of carrying on the management of an unregistered clinic, contrary to s.14(1) of the Medical Clinics Ordinance, Cap. 343, and second, of using a means to procure a miscarriage contrary to s.46 of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance, Cap. 212. Those convictions were before Burrell, J. and a jury.

2. 0n 27 March 1996 she was sentenced to 6 months' imprisonment on the 1st count and 18 months' imprisonment on the 2nd count concurrently. She does not pursue her application for leave to appeal against the convictions in respect of the 1st count. She pursues it in respect of the 2nd count, raising the same issues which were before the judge and the jury.

3. On the case, the prosecution rested chiefly upon her own confession supported not by the girl but by circumstantial evidence from her boyfriend and other members of the family.

4. In her defence, she raised two issues:

(1) She said that she was only pretending to abort the girl.

(2) That she received and kept the fee of $4,000 because she discovered that the girl had started to miscarry before her visit to the clinic.

5. The judge, in what can only be described as an impeccable summing-up, put those issues and all other necessary matters before the jury for its proper consideration. Here the applicant seeks to persuade this Court to retry the same issues. It is not open to this Court to do that. There are no grounds upon which this Court can give leave to appeal against the conviction. The application is refused.