HKSAR v. LEE TANG YAU

HCMA 602/2001

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

MAGISTRACY APPEAL NO. 602 OF 2001

(ON APPEAL FROM NKCC 1470 OF 2001)

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J U D G M E N T

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1. The Appellant appeals against the sentence of 8 months imprisonment imposed on him in the Magistracy for an offence of Managing a Vice Establishment.

2. The Appellant was the keeper of premises in which 8 illegal immigrants were found to be working as prostitutes. The premises appear to have been of some size because there were seven cubicles in use at the time of the police raid. The Appellant said that he was just an employee and that an 8 months sentence was too heavy for a first conviction of such an offence.

3. The Appellant's record which starts in 1981 is a significant one; however I note his last offence was in 1986 and he does not have any convictions similar to the present one. The Magistrate in considering sentence had in mind the case of R v Kwan Wah-sang, MA No. 1324 of 1988. At that time the range of custodial sentences for this offence was from 3 to 18 months, the commonest sentences being 3 to 6 months imprisonment. The Magistrate also looked at 2 other cases: HKSAR v Ng Tsz-fung, MA 800/1998, and HKSAR v Lam Albeachat, MA 181/2000; in both cases sentences were less than 6 months imprisonment.

4. The Magistrate took into account that in this case 8 illegal immigrants were found working as prostitutes in the premises. All were of relatively young age, from 17 to 20. The Magistrate regarded the presence of illegal immigrants as an aggravating feature of the offence, but he made it clear that he was not sentencing the Appellant for aiding and abetting illegal immigrants.

5. In looking at cases of this nature it must be obvious that the use of illegal immigrants is an aggravating feature. As long as vice establishments are prepared to offer places for illegal immigrants to live and to work as prostitutes, they would avail themselves of that opportunity by crossing the border. The problem that arises then is not solely a vice problem, but also one of immigration.

6. The Magistrate took that factor into account and adopted a 12 months starting point in this case; that starting point was well within the range common for this type of custodial sentence. The Magistrate gave the Appellant full credit for his guilty plea and reduced it to 8 months.

7. Having considered the facts of the case and the Magistrate's reasons for sentence, I cannot fault the sentence. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.