HAO XIAOYING v. WONG YIU LAM WILLIAM AND OTHERS

HAO XIAOYING v. WONG YIU LAM WILLIAM AND OTHERS

Persistent non‑compliance with the court's order and aggravating features justify a custodial sentence for the 1st defendant (W Wong) of four months, subject to being purged, and fines of HK$150,000 each for the 2nd and 3rd defendants (Huang and Lau) because the contempt involved a large sum and there was no suggestion of financial difficulty, so fines must serve as real punishment and deterrence.

Citation
HAO XIAOYING v. WONG YIU LAM WILLIAM AND OTHERS
Parties
Plaintiff: HAO XIAOYING; 1st Defendant: WONG YIU LAM WILLIAM; 2nd Defendant: HUANG KWANG MIN; 3rd Defendant: LAU YAN YIN
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
2 March 2015
Case Number
HCMP1968/2014
Procedural Posture
Committal for Contempt / Sentencing Hearing/decision
Outcome
1st Defendant (WONG YIU LAM WILLIAM) committed for contempt and sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment, sentence not to be served if contempt is purged; 2nd and 3rd Defendants (HUANG KWANG MIN and LAU YAN YIN) each fined HK$150,000.
Legal Topics
Committal for Contempt, Imprisonment, Fines, Purging Contempt
Source Language
EN
Contempt of Court Civil Procedure Enforcement of Judgments Committal for Contempt Imprisonment Fines Purging Contempt

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Parties

HAO XIAOYING

Plaintiff

WONG YIU LAM WILLIAM

1st Defendant

HUANG KWANG MIN

2nd Defendant

LAU YAN YIN

3rd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Committal for Contempt / Sentencing Hearing/decision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the 1st defendant should be committed to prison for contempt for persistent non‑compliance with an order
  2. 2 Whether the 2nd and 3rd defendants should be fined and the appropriate level of fine
  3. 3 Whether imprisonment may be suspended on purging of contempt

Ratio Decidendi

Persistent non‑compliance with the court's order and aggravating features justify a custodial sentence for the 1st defendant (W Wong) of four months, subject to being purged, and fines of HK$150,000 each for the 2nd and 3rd defendants (Huang and Lau) because the contempt involved a large sum and there was no suggestion of financial difficulty, so fines must serve as real punishment and deterrence.

Court Disposition

1st Defendant (WONG YIU LAM WILLIAM) committed for contempt and sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment, sentence not to be served if contempt is purged; 2nd and 3rd Defendants (HUANG KWANG MIN and LAU YAN YIN) each fined HK$150,000.

Orders

  • Impose imprisonment of 4 months on WONG YIU LAM WILLIAM for contempt of court; sentence need not be served if he purges his contempt.
  • Impose a fine of HK$150,000 on HUANG KWANG MIN for contempt of court.