HKSAR V. LAM MAN TAK

[2026] HKCA 67 Court of Appeal 20 January 2026 • CACC49/2018 • 32 min read

16 cases cited (0 HK, 16 foreign)

Outcome

Appeal allowed

The appeal is accordingly allowed to the extent that his overall sentence is reduced from 22 years and 4 months’ imprisonment to 20 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.

Source: [2026] HKCA 67, Court of Appeal, decided 20 January 2026. Read directly from the judgment.

Judges (3)

K Yeung Coram Macrae Coram Zervos Coram

Counsel (6)

Department of Justice Firm Johnnie Yam, Jacky Lee & Co Firm Ferrida Chan Counsel Applicant Ira Lui Counsel Respondent Michael Tsang Counsel Respondent Virginia Lau Counsel Applicant

Parties (2)

HKSAR Respondent Lam Man Tak Applicant

Case Significance

HKSAR v. Lam Man Tak [2026] HKCA 67 concerned an appeal against sentence, in which the Court of Appeal held that "the appeal is accordingly allowed to the extent that his overall sentence is reduced from 22 years and 4 months’ imprisonment to 20 years and 9 months’ imprisonment." The court accordingly allowed the appeal in part, reducing the total term while leaving the underlying convictions in place.

Summary

Lam Man Tak applied for leave to appeal against his sentence of 23 years' imprisonment for trafficking in 1,255g of cocaine (916g pure) and 187g of cocaine (158g pure). The Court of Appeal considered new sentencing guidelines from Huang Ruifang (No 3) and granted leave, reducing the total sentence to 19 years and 4 months after recalculating starting points for both counts.

What did the Court of Appeal decide in HKSAR v. Lam Man Tak [2026] HKCA 67?

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal against sentence in part, holding that "the appeal is accordingly allowed to the extent that his overall sentence is reduced from 22 years and 4 months’ imprisonment to 20 years and 9 months’ imprisonment."

Statutes Cited

Basic Law

Art 39

Criminal Procedure Ordinance

s 83P

Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap 134)

Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap 383)

s 8

Cases Cited (16)

HK (16)

(1999) 2 HKCFAR 184 (1999) 2 HKCFAR 4 (2018) 21 HKCFAR 35 [1998] 2 HKLRD 46 [2009] 1 HKLRD 1 [2009] 2 HKLRD 437 [2018] 5 HKLRD 88 [2018] HKC 591 [2018] HKCFI 549 [2021] 1 HKLRD 290 [2024] 1 HKLRD 1186 [2024] 2 HKLRD 955 [2024] 4 HKLRD 777 [2025] 2 HKLRD 138 [2025] 4 HKLRD 761 [2025] 4 HKLRD 851