Crime and punishment in Hong Kong: how long, exactly, is a life sentence?
News of a recent robbery suspect’s past convictions has cast the spotlight on prisoners who receive reduced sentences. Thrown into prison over two decades ago, the suspect was to live out the rest of his life behind bars. But he got out of jail as a change to Hong Kong laws in 2004 resulted in his sentence being shortened.
Who decides whether criminals spend their lives behind bars?
During British rule before July 1997, there were two types of life imprisonment. One was a mandatory term, where the judge would have to sentence all offenders to a minimum sentence. The other was discretionary, left to the judge to decide and also termed indefinite imprisonment, as it meant prisoners would be detained “at Her Majesty’s pleasure”. Their sentence might be reviewed as a power of the Crown on a case-by-case basis.
Soon before the city’s return to Chinese rule, the Criminal Procedure Ordinance was revised to introduce a minimum sentence to prisoners serving discretionary life imprisonment. Under the system, the term of imprisonment would be approved by the then governor, based on the recommendation of the chief justice on examining original trial documents.
After the handover, the power to set minimum imprisonment was transferred from the governor to the leader of the city, the chief executive.
Why was there a change in the law in 2004?