A person who continually returns to criminal behaviour notwithstanding the imposition of punishment for crimes committed. Whilst it is always important for the sentencer to bear in mind the general principle that a defendant is being sentenced for the offence which has brought him before the court and not for previous offences for which he has already served the penalty, the constant repetition of the defendant’s commission of crime itself increases the gravity of the offences, at least so far as sentence is concerned: HKSAR v Chan Pui Chi [1999] 3 HKC 848, 2 HKLRD 830. A defendant, with previous convictions of the same or a similar kind as the offence for which he is due to be sentenced, may receive a longer sentence: HKSAR v Chan Pui Chi, supra. See also Deterrence; Habitual criminal.
儘管已施加所犯罪行的刑罰，持續地再犯刑事行為的人。永遠重要的是判刑的人要緊記以下的一般原則：被告正就把他帶到法庭面前的罪行被判刑，而非為之前他已經服刑的罪行判刑，被告時常不斷重複犯罪增加罪行的嚴重程度（至少就刑罰而言）：HKSAR v Chan Pui Chi [1999] 2 HKLRD 830。如之前有相同或類似性質罪行的定罪，被告可因而就有關的罪行被判較長的刑期：HKSAR v Chan Pui Chi [1999] 2 HKLRD 830。另見 Deterrence; Habitual criminal。n.

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