- 6 properly attract a starting point of sentence of 30 months’ imprisonment under the present sentencing provisions. 21. But let me say this; I am not sure that the present maximum penalty for this offence is sufficient. It presently ranks on a lesser level than unlawfully abstracting electricity or taking a motor car without authority. 22. Given the increasing quantity and depravity of this material reaching the court and the increasing ease of publishing it on the internet, in my view, the present maximum penalties could well be reviewed. 23. This appeal is dismissed. (M.A. McMahon) Deputy High Court Judge Mr Kwok Wing-lung, S.G.C. of the Department of Justice, for the Respondent Mr Chan Siu-ming, instructed by Legal Aid Department, for the Appellant