Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Employment of persons not lawfully employable

Legal area

Court

22 Apr 1998

HKSAR v. FU YAT HUNG

Citation

HKSAR v. FU YAT HUNG
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA271/1998

Given the multiplicity of employees, sustained and systematic commercial conduct, and the appellant's arrangement of false documentation to regularise employees' status, the Magistrate's starting point of 18 months (reduced by one-third for guilty pleas to 12 months) was a lawful and proportionate exercise of sentencing discretion; the sentences were neither manifestly excessive nor wrong in principle, and the appeal is dismissed.
6 Sept 1996

Attorney General v. WONG CHUNG LEE

Citation

Attorney General v. WONG CHUNG LEE
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CAAR10/1996

The Court held that the Wong Mok-din guideline applies to all offences under s.17I(1) regardless of the category of the employee and rejected the Tai Wai-hung approach of grading starting points by employee classification; given the respondent's recklessness and the number of employees the appropriate starting point was at least 20 months, but because of mitigation and time already served the Court substituted concurrent sentences of 13 months with the unserved balance suspended for two years, finding the magistrate erred in principle in starting at six months and imposing a 50% plea discount.