NG HON MING v. R.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

1993, No. 392
(Criminal)

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J U D G M E M T

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Litton, J.A. giving the judgment of the court:

1. This is an application for leave to appeal against a sentence of four years' imprisonment.

2. This applicant, Ng Hon-ming, was convicted on 1 July 1993 on one charge laid under section 37C(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance in that he was a member of the crew of a ship which entered Hong Kong with unauthorised entrants on board. The offence took place on 3 October 1992 when a ship called "Wai Loi 364" entered Hong Kong with 17 unauthorised entrants. It was proved at the trial that the applicant was a crew member on board the ship. All the passengers came from China and were unauthorised entrants.

3. This court has dealt with a large number of similar cases. The district judge on this occasion sentenced the applicant to four years' imprisonment which is well within the normal tariff for an offence of this nature. Taking into account the fact that there were 17 unauthorised passengers on board, it would appear to us that the sentence of four years is not manifestly excessive. The application for leave to appeal against sentence must therefore be refused.