The Court of Appeal yesterday warned that people involved in sophisticated credit card fraud schemes can expect long jail terms.
The comments came as Mr Justice Conrad Seagroatt reaffirmed Deputy Judge Henry Mierczak's decision in January to lengthen by a quarter the statutory sentence handed down to a Taiwanese man who was part of a 'gang of fraudsters'.
Deputy Judge Mierczak sentenced Lee to six years and three months, accepting submissions to impose higher sentences after statistics were introduced to court signalling a rise in credit card crime.
Mr Justice Seagroatt said yesterday Lee Tsung-lin, 26, landed in Hong Kong on March 7 last year with aim of obtaining gifts and cash using forged credit cards.
By the time the gang was arrested, they had spent $205,000.
In dismissing Lee's appeal against sentence yesterday, Mr Justice Seagroatt said the crime was becoming more prevalent.