AN accountant said to have no confidence in the legal system after his solicitor ran away with his fees and his case was adjourned seven times, yesterday lost his appeal. Chui Chi-ming, 35, appealed against a nine-month sentence imposed by Kwun Tong Court after he pleaded guilty to stealing a cheque for $170,802 from his company. His counsel, Robert Buchanan, told Mr Justice Leonard in the High Court that the offence took place because Chui needed money to pay his legal fees for a forgery trial in the District Court. The court heard that Chui paid more than $600,000 to his solicitor for the defence of his case. The lawyer absconded with part of the money and Chui was at his wits' end, so he too ran away. Counsel said the District Court case was delayed seven times through no fault of Chui. One of the reasons was because the judge had to keep a dental appointment. Chui was re-arrested and sentenced by the District Court to two years' jail for forgery in January. He admitted forging three insurance company debit notes of about $700,000 for payment of premiums. Mr Justice Leonard, in dismissing the appeal, said he saw no reason to interfere with the magistrate's sentence, which was neither excessive nor wrong in principle.
