HKSAR v. SON SEOK TAE

CACC192/2002

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 192 OF 2002

(ON APPEAL FROM DCCC NO. 1192 OF 2001)

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J U D G M E N T

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1. The applicant was convicted of one charge of conspiracy to defraud on his own plea. He was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment. The trial judge took 6 years as the starting point and discounting it by one-third for the applicant's plea, he reduced the sentence to 4 years imprisonment.

2. The applicant admitted that he used counterfeit payment cards to make withdrawals from ATM machines using the PIN numbers extracted from credit cards. Korean Banks in Hong Kong confirmed that HK$465,790 had been withdrawn in this manner from Hong Kong customers bank accounts by using the credit cards in the applicant's possession. This amount was later recovered from the applicant and another person.

3. The trial judge found the applicant played a part in a well-organized syndicate of persons who had conspired to steal money from Korean Banks operating in Hong Kong.

4. The trial judge followed R v Chan Sui To & Anor [1996] 2 HKCLR 128 which held that a medium size credit card fraud operation not involving international operation would attract 5-6 years imprisonment. The judge adopted a 6 years starting point in this case which had an international element.

5. The grounds of appeal were that the applicant was a Korean and not accustomed to the life in a foreign prison and he found staying in a foreign prison life difficult.

6. I do not see any reason that this sentence would be disturbed by the Court of Appeal, the sentence being neither wrong in principle nor manifestly excessive having regard to the circumstances of the case. Life in a foreign prison is not a ground for any reduction of a sentence which is otherwise appropriate. The application is dismissed.