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Stella Lee

A BUSINESSMAN and his mistress who killed a student with chloroform after enticing her to a hotel to make a pornographic video yesterday had their jail sentences substantially increased by the Court of Appeal.

  The court agreed sentences of 81/2 years and seven years imprisonment imposed on Hon Leung-fong and Phoebe Wong Yim-ping respectively were manifestly inadequate and increased them to 15 and 12 years.

  The application to review the sentences was lodged by the Crown after public outcry and criticism of the penalty.

  Dick Luk Pak-luen, 55, father of the Baptist College computer student, Elaine Luk Yee-ling, 21, said after the review that the new sentences were fairer.

  'They deserve the sentences. But I don't think they feel sorry, especially the woman [Wong] who laughed and chatted with the lawyer in the court.

  'Of course they don't feel the pain for my daughter's death which is going to cast a shadow over the family forever,' Mr Luk said.

  He said he had sleepless nights when he knew the first verdict was so light.

  'I woke up at night and thought about the question. But now it is good. The heavy sentences will teach others not to commit similar offences,' he said.

  In allowing the review, the Appeal Court adopted 20 years' jail as a starting point and initially raised Hon's penalty to 18 years and(Cont'd from Page 1) Wong's to 15 years after giving them credit for their early guilty pleas and other mitigating factors.

  However, having taken into account that it was a review and the court had increased the sentences substantially, a further reduction should be given, the court held.

  The court, comprising the Chief Justice Sir Ti Liang Yang, vice-president Mr Justice Macdougall and Mr Justice Patrick Chan, will later give their reasons in writing for allowing the Crown's appeal.

    Hon, 33, and Wong, 28, both denied a joint charge of murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter. The plea was accepted by Mr Justice Leonard at the High Court trial in August.

  It was the Crown's case that Hon came to know Luk after she joined his property company during the school holidays.

  On July 24 last year, on the pretext of giving her a birthday party, Wong lured her to the Royal Park Hotel in Sha Tin.

  In the hotel room, Wong had plied her with spirits until she was drunk.

  She then poured a bottle of chloroform on to a towel and placed it over Luk's face and when this failed to knock her out, Hon drove to Tuen Mun for a second bottle and used it in the same way.

  When he succeeded in rendering her unconscious, he stripped her and filmed her lying naked on the floor and while the camera was still running, he indecently assaulted her.

  Shortly afterwards, the pair realised Luk had gone cold and after failing to revive her they called an ambulance, but she died two days later without regaining consciousness.



Chloroform killers' jail terms raised