Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Sentence review under s81a

Legal area

Court

11 Dec 2025

SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE v. TAI TIN HO, ZAFAR AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2025] HKCA 1109
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CAAR4/2023

The Court held that (1) the redaction of the jury note and the provision of a typed written answer without recalling the jury did not, on the facts and having seen the unredacted note, amount to a material irregularity or miscarriage of justice and the convictions were safe; and (2) the sentencing judge erred in principle by failing to treat the display of a firearm and other aggravating factors as warranting a higher starting point, so the original sentences were quashed and substituted with materially higher terms on review under s81A CPO (D1: 10 years; D2: 9.5 years, with modest reductions…
11 Feb 2022

律政司司長訴葉慧善

Citation

[2022] HKCA 226
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CAAR12/2021

The Court concluded the original sentence for count 3 (dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm) was manifestly inadequate because the sentencing judge failed to sufficiently reflect the high objective dangerousness and moral culpability of using a vehicle as an instrument of criminality and the severe, partly permanent injuries to the victim; the appropriate starting point for count 3 was 45 months reduced to 30 months for the guilty plea, with the other counts retained and the total sentence set at 42 months and then reduced by a further 3 months due to the proximity of earliest relea…
28 Sept 2018

SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE v. WONG KAN YUEN

Citation

[2018] HKCFA 43
Court

Court of Final Appeal
Case number

FACC13/2018

The Court allowed the appeals because although the magistrate erred and custodial sentences were justified, the Court of Appeal erred by applying the new post-Wong Chi Fung sentencing guidelines retrospectively when fixing custodial terms and by failing to address the effect of section 109A for young offenders; consequently the Court of Final Appeal set aside the Court of Appeal's imprisonment terms and substituted sentences equivalent to time already served, holding that s81A permits review but not retrospective application of new, harsher guidelines and that age for s109A is measured at dat…
5 Mar 2002

HKSAR v. SOLOMON DOMINIC MUSA

Citation

HKSAR v. SOLOMON DOMINIC MUSA
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC617/1999

The applicant failed, on the balance of probabilities, to establish that his abandonment of the application for leave to appeal was induced by mistake or coercion or that he relied upon any assurances from his government; the contemporaneous correspondence and conduct demonstrate the decision was voluntary and informed, therefore the application to withdraw the notice of abandonment is dismissed.

Hong Kong Case Law

SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE v. TAI TIN HO, ZAFAR AND ANOTHER

律政司司長 訴 葉慧善

SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE v. WONG KAN YUEN

HKSAR v. SOLOMON DOMINIC MUSA

律政司司長訴葉慧善