Report on Reforming Suspended Sentences in Hong Kong

Abstract

This report is from a study of the suspended sentence power in Hong Kong undertaken by the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the request of the Law Society of Hong Kong (LSHK). Members of the LSHK’s Criminal Law and Procedure Committee have been concerned about the list of exceptions to the suspended sentence power. The purpose of this report is to inform members of that Committee of the background and law on the suspended sentence power and to aid their ongoing discussion of the topic with the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong. The study focuses specifically on the exceptions to the power of the courts of Hong Kong to impose suspended sentences under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap 221) (CPO). The study will consider arguments for maintaining, abolishing or reforming the list of excepted offences for which offenders cannot receive a suspended sentence of imprisonment regardless of circumstances. In doing so, the project will examine the nature of judicial power to order suspended sentences or their equivalent in the following jurisdictions: Australia (Victoria), New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, and the United Kingdom (UK). It will also provide the historical context in which Hong Kong introduced the suspended sentence of imprisonment, and the rationale for excepting the offences listed in Schedule 3 of the CPO.