R. v. YUNG PING HUNG

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(Appellate Jurisdiction)

MAGISTRACY APPEAL No. 808 of 1995

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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 4 months' imprisonment for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The assault resulted from a dispute between two drivers which had occurred at the exit to the carpark at the Hong Kong International Airport.

2. During a "Newton" enquiry before the learned Magistrate, the victim described an assault which involved a number of blows and a lot of blood coming from his nose. The medical report, however, described very minor injuries indeed, and did not seem to support the account of events given by the victim.

3. While it is always a serious matter for people to resort to violence to settle minor agitations or disputes, this was, in my view, not a case which demanded immediate imprisonment. There is no doubt that a custodial sentence was an appropriate sentence in view of the nature and circumstances of the attack, but the minor nature of the injuries persuaded me that the attack was not nearly so serious as the victim made out. I, therefore, felt that the prison sentence could be suspended, and allowed the appeal ordering that the sentence of immediate imprisonment be suspended for one year.