Yee v Reginam [2007] SBHC 28; HCSI-CRC 319 of 2006 (24 April 2007)

HIGH COURT OF SOLOMON ISLANDS

Criminal Case No. 319 of 2006

BETWEEN:

PAUL YEE
Appellant

AND:

REGINAM
Respondent

Date of Hearing: 16 April 2007
Date of Judgment: 24 April 2007

Mr Radclyffe for Appellant
Mr Talasasa for Respondent

JUDGMENT

Cameron PJ

Introduction

1	Mr Yee appeals against a sentence of 6 months imprisonment. It was imposed on 4 August 2006 following his conviction in the Magistrates’ Court at Honiara for an offence of official corruption. He had unsuccessfully defended the charge.
2	An appeal against sentence was filed the same day as his conviction and sentence. Also on that day he was granted bail by this court pending the hearing of this appeal.
3	The facts are simply that Mr Yee was found to have offered a bribe of SBD$500.00 cash to a tax investigator against the expectation that Mr Yee’s trading company would not be further investigated by the Inland Revenue Department.
4	To his very great credit the tax investigator involved, a Mr Giobauta, was not prepared to have a bar of this proposal, and immediately reported the matter to his superiors. In this way the offending came to light.
5	Mr Yee was 67 years old at the time of the offence. He is now 68 years old. He has an otherwise impeccable record with no previous convictions, and has operated in the Solomon Islands as a businessman for many years. He is also a family man.
6	The first ground of the appeal was that the sentence of 6 months imprisonment was, in the circumstances, manifestly excessive.
7	I agree with this. While official corruption is a serious offence and deterrence of others is an important consideration, this is overshadowed in this case by the fact that the offender was a 67 year old man with an otherwise impeccable record. I accept the submission that the offending was at the lower end of the scale.
8		I consider that a sentence of immediate imprisonment was in these circumstances manifestly excessive.
9	I therefore quash the sentence.
10	I am not prepared to remit the matter back to the Magistrates’ Court, as I have all the information necessary for me to re-sentence the offender.
11	The prosecution fairly represented Mr Yee to be now a "frail old man" who may well have learnt his lesson, given what he has been through to date. I consider this to be an accurate assessment of the position, and am confident Mr Yee will not offend again in this way.
12	I substitute a sentence of a fine of $5,000.00. This is to be satisfied by the Registrar of the High Court applying the $5,000.00 paid by Mr Yee to this Court as a condition of his bail in payment of the fine.
BY THE COURT