3 Feb 2017
The appeal is dismissed because there was credible evidence to support the Magistrate's findings, the notebook post-record was rightly admitted, the magistrate properly assessed credibility having seen witnesses, and the overall sentence fell within the appropriate range and was not excessive.
8 Jan 2004
The Magistrate properly balanced mitigating factors (guilty plea, clear record, family circumstances) against the aggravating factor of being the prime mover and applied relevant authority; the resulting sentences were not manifestly excessive or wrong in principle, so the appeal is dismissed.
28 Feb 2003
Offences of producing a false two‑way permit to gain entry into Hong Kong are at least as serious as offences involving forged passports and should attract comparable starting points; in this case, fairness and current authorities required reduction from the magistrate's 18‑month starting point to 12 months, leading to substituted sentences of eight months for each of the two immigration offences and an overall effective sentence of 14 months after appropriate ordering of concurrency and consecutivity.
4 Oct 2000
The magistrate erred by adopting the statutory maximum as the starting point for sentence, thereby eliminating necessary leeway to distinguish levels of culpability; appellate court set appropriate starting points (14 months and 18 months), applied a one‑third guilty plea discount producing sentences of 9 and 12 months respectively, and ordered them to run concurrently for a total effective sentence of 12 months.