HKSAR v. TSANG PING KWONG
- Citation
- HKSAR v. TSANG PING KWONG
- Status
- Judgment
- Jurisdiction
- Hong Kong
- Court
- Court of First Instance
- Decision
- 12 February 2008
- Posture
- Criminal Appeal (magistracy Appeal) / Judgment on Appeal
- Case number
- HCMA48/2008
- Language
- English
More details
- Court
- Court of First Instance
- Decision
- 12 February 2008
- Posture
- Criminal Appeal (magistracy Appeal) / Judgment on Appeal
- Case number
- HCMA48/2008
- Language
- English
On this page
Professional case brief
Research organized from the available case record
01
Holding and result
The magistrate's chosen starting points for the offences, the one‑third reduction for guilty pleas, and the application of the totality principle (including a four‑month concession for the appellant's disclosure) produced an overall 12‑month concurrent sentence which was appropriate; no further reduction was warranted and the appeal is dismissed.
Court disposition
Appeal dismissed; sentences upheld.
Orders
- Appeal dismissed
- Sentences of 6 months imprisonment on each of three charges and 12 months imprisonment on each of two charges to be served concurrently, resulting in an aggregate sentence of 12 months imprisonment
02
Material facts
Parties
HKSAR
Respondent Counsel: Ms Peggy LO, Government Counsel, Department of JusticeTSANG Ping Kwong
Appellant Counsel: Appellant in personAmounts and remedies
- Total Imprisonment: months 12
- Number of Charges Convicted: count 5
- Prior Related Sentence (2007): months 8
03
Procedural history
Posture
Criminal Appeal (magistracy Appeal) / Judgment on Appeal
04
Questions and positions
Legal issues
- 01
Whether the individual and total sentences were excessive
- 02
Appropriate starting points for historical offences versus recent offences
- 03
Application of one‑third reduction for guilty plea
- 04
Effect of appellant's notification of additional offences and prior related conviction
Party arguments
- Applicant
- Appellant appealed the sentence and sought further reduction beyond that allowed by the magistrate, relying on his guilty pleas and mitigation.
- Respondent
- Prosecution submitted the sentences and totality calculation were appropriate; no further reduction was justified.
05
Court’s reasoning
Legal principles
- 01
Sentencing practice / common law
Reduction for guilty plea (one‑third reduction applied)
- 02
Sentencing principle / common law
Totality principle in sentencing (aggregate sentence must be just and appropriate)
- 03
Sentencing practice
Different starting points may be applied for historical offences versus recent offences
- 04
Immigration Ordinance, Cap. 115
Use of false travel documents and false representation are offences under the Immigration Ordinance
06
Ratio, limits and disposition
Ratio decidendi
The magistrate's chosen starting points for the offences, the one‑third reduction for guilty pleas, and the application of the totality principle (including a four‑month concession for the appellant's disclosure) produced an overall 12‑month concurrent sentence which was appropriate; no further reduction was warranted and the appeal is dismissed.
Obiter and limits
- Magistrate treated the appellant as if sentenced for all offences together in 2007 for totality purposes.
- Magistrate made a generous additional four‑month reduction because the appellant notified prosecuting authorities of additional offences while incarcerated.
Court disposition
Appeal dismissed; sentences upheld.
- Appeal dismissed
- Sentences of 6 months imprisonment on each of three charges and 12 months imprisonment on each of two charges to be served concurrently, resulting in an aggregate sentence of 12 months imprisonment
Source and reliance status
Court of First Instance · 12 February 2008
This page organises the available record for research. Confirm quotations, current status, and subsequent treatment against the official source before relying on the case.
Judgment reading view
Judgment text
The complete available source text.
Court of First Instance
Judgment· 12 February 2008
bjbj HCMA 48/2008
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE MAGISTRACY APPEAL NO. 48 OF 2008 (ON APPEAL FROM STCC 9128/2007) ____
BETWEEN HKSAR Respondent and TSANG Ping Kwong Appellant ____ Before: Hon Wright J in Court Date of Hearing: 12 February 2008 Date of Judgment: 12 February 2008 ___
J U D G M E N T ___ The appellant appeals sentences of 6 months imprisonment on each of three charges preferred under the Immigration Ordinance, Cap. 115 relating to the making of a false representation to an immigration assistant and sentences of 12 months imprisonment on a further two charges under the same ordinance relating to the use of a false travel document. All of the sentences were ordered to be served concurrently with one another, resulting in a total sentence of 12 months imprisonment. The appellant was represented. He pleaded guilty to all of the charges. He previously had admitted, under caution, using false two-way Chinese permits relating to three particular entries into Hong Kong, namely in August 1998, December 1999 and September 2006. The magistrate noted that in 2007, subsequent to his entry in September 2006, the appellant had been convicted of breach of condition of stay and possession of a false instrument and jailed for a period of eight months. The magistrate distinguished between sentences being imposed in the late 1990s and those imposed recently: he consequently took starting points of nine months imprisonment in respect of the 1998 in 1999 offences and 18 months in respect of the 2006 offences, reducing them by the usual one third for the pleas of guilty. In having regard to the question of totality, he also quite properly treated the
appellant as if he had been sentenced for all of the offences together when he was sentenced in 2007. It seems that it was the appellant himself be notified the prosecuting authorities during his period of incarceration that he had committed these additional offences: the magistrate took that into account, generously reducing the overall totality that he had in mind by a substantial four months. There is nothing before me today that justifies any further reduction in sentence. The individual sentences and the aggregate sentence are all entirely appropriate. The appeal is dismissed. (A R Wright) Judge of the Court of First Instance High Court Appellant in person Ms Peggy LO, Government Counsel of the Department of Justice, for the Respondent.
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