THE QUEEN v. CHU LAM SIK

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF HONG KONG

(Appellate Jurisdiction)

MAGISTRACY APPEAL NO. 1271 OF 1990

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BETWEEN

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JUDGMENT

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Sir Derek Cons, V.P.:

1. On the 6th of June this year the Appellant was arrested by the police at a construction site. He is an illegal immigrant. It is not the first time he has been arrested in Hong Kong. He was arrested and sent back to China on the 2nd of May tnis year.

2. On this occasion he was brought before a magistrate. On the 14th of June he pleaded guilty to remaining in Hong Kong without permission and was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment. At that time all he said in mitigation was to ask the magistrate to give him two months less.

3. Subsequently he applied to the magistrate for leave to appeal against the sentence out of time. He appears to have told the magistrate that his mother was seriously ill and under treatment in hospital. I assume, although there is nothing in the record to that effect, that the magistrate gave him leave.

4. In support of his appeal the Appellant has shown me today a letter received from his wife. It does not confirm in all respects what he how tells me. He suggests, when challenged, that he has received further information from people who visited him in prison. Be that as it may, I am satisfied that his wife's letter is genuine and that what she writes in that letter is grounded in truth, in particular that his mother is very close to death at this moment. For that reason, and for no other, I think it is possible to take a more lenient course in this case. I therefore allow the appeal and reduce the sentence to six months, which means that if he is not released immediately, his release will come in the very near future.