Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Youth as mitigation

Legal area

Court

13 Jan 1998

CHAN CHI HOU v. HKSAR

Citation

CHAN CHI HOU v. HKSAR
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC1/1997

For premeditated indecent assaults on young girls involving a weapon, stripping and forced sexual acts, the appropriate starting point is at least 7 to 8 years; youth and a clear record warrant only a limited discount (about one year); an appellate court will not interfere with a sentence properly reached by the trial judge unless it is wrong in principle or manifestly excessive. Applying these principles, the application for leave to appeal against sentence was refused.
27 Jun 1997

R. v. FONG TAT MING

Citation

R. v. FONG TAT MING
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACC686/1996

The Court refused leave to appeal because the sentence of seven years fell within the wide range of acceptable sentences for manslaughter in the circumstances; the judge had considered relevant mitigation (age, plea, background) and there was no error of principle nor was the sentence manifestly excessive even if an error had been made about the applicant being armed.
12 Aug 1987

ATTORNEY GENERAL v. LI CHI KO AND OTHERS

Citation

ATTORNEY GENERAL v. LI CHI KO AND OTHERS
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CAAR14/1987

Given the violent, well-planned, armed robbery in domestic premises, youth (except extreme youth of a 15‑year‑old) did not amount to an exceptional circumstance; immediate terms of imprisonment should have been imposed and, on review with customary reductions for guilty pleas and review procedure, the appropriate sentences were 4 years for LI Chi‑ko and LEE Chi‑yuen and 3 years for CHUNG Sai‑kwong, while the detention sentence for LAM Kam‑yuen (aged about 15) was not disturbed.

Hong Kong Case Law

CHAN CHI HOU v. HKSAR

R. v. FONG TAT MING

ATTORNEY GENERAL v. LI CHI KO AND OTHERS