23 Oct 2008
HKSAR v. CHONG TSZ HO BILLY
- Citation
- HKSAR v. CHONG TSZ HO BILLY
- Court
- Court of First Instance
- Case number
- HCMA814/2008
The appeal was allowed because the magistrate failed to give sufficient weight to the medical finding that the appellant was not drug-dependent and to his status as a young first offender; the sentencing magistrate should have considered non‑custodial supervision with conditions (probation, counselling, random urine tests) as a viable alternative. Given the time already spent in custody, the Detention Centre order was set aside and replaced with a sentence calibrated to allow immediate release.