HKSAR v. MUI WAN CHUNG

DCCC 1163/2025

[2026] HKDC 138

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 1163 OF 2025

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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1. The defendant has pleaded guilty to four charges on the indictment today.  I have convicted him on him admitting the facts and pleading guilty.  The four charges as follows:-

- Handling stolen goods;

- Using a registration mark on a vehicle with intent to deceive;

- Driving without a valid driving licence; and

- Using a motor vehicle without third party insurance.

2. The charges arise originally out of the, what would appear to be the theft of a motorcycle in December 2024 that belonged to a company called Anlev Elex Elevators.  The motorcycle was found missing from its parking space in Fanling and the matter was reported to the police.

3. On 17 February 2025, another motorcycle went missing together with a blue helmet.  On 29 March 2025, police patrolling in the area of Fanling of the Queen’s Hill Estate found what turned out to be the motorcycle stolen on 30 December 2024 together with a blue helmet.  The defendant was also seen by that motorcycle.  This motorcycle had a registration plate of XR6916, the original registration mark had been WE5974. 

4. The defendant was found together with a key to that motorcycle in his right pocket.  The blue helmet was established as the helmet that was lost in February 2025 and the motorcycle was established as the motorcycle stolen in December 2024. 

5. A CCTV footage showed on the same day that the defendant had driven the motorcycle at the Queen’s Hill Estate.  There is no dispute that the defendant does not possess a driving licence for a motorbike or vehicles and did not possess a driving licence for motorcycles at the material time which also meant that his driving of the vehicle would have been without third party insurance.

6. As far as the defendant’s background is concerned, he is aged 46.  He has one relevant conviction back in 2012 for handling stolen goods when he was sentenced in the District Court to 14 months’ imprisonment.  He had been disqualified in 2024 for dangerous driving. 

7. As far as the mitigation is concerned, in mitigation I am referred to the defendant’s employment history.  He has been a casual worker making around about $15,000 a month before his arrest in March 2025 and it is noted in his mitigation that the defendant was sentenced to a similar offence in June 2012, sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment some 10 years ago.

8. As far as the defendant’s other mitigation is concerned, he has asked to take into account the relative age of his previous conviction for handling stolen goods and not see it as an aggravating factor. 

9. I take into account the defendant’s pleas of guilty which entitles him to a full one-third discount from the starting points for sentence and finally that the driving under charges 3 and 4 relates to the defendant starting the motorcycle engine immediately before his interception by police which would mean that all the offences were committed at the same time and the same place on 29 March 2025.

10. The 1^st charge is clearly the most serious of the charges, the charge of handling stolen goods.  There is no guideline for sentence in respect of that.  There are certain factors the court can take into account such as the nature and value of the items stolen.  The proximity between the offences of theft in relation to vehicles or the items of property and the time at which the defendant is found to be in possession with them are factors that may be taken into account. 

11. In this case, the offences were committed some time before the defendant was found in the vehicles.  The offence being committed would appear between 30 December 2024 and 29 March 2025 in relation to the offences of handling stolen goods.

12. I take all those factors into consideration and the defendant’s plea of guilty.  I am going to impose sentences as follows on these charges:-

- On the 1^st charge, I am going to take a starting point of 21 months’ imprisonment, reduce that to 14 months’ imprisonment for the defendant’s plea of guilty;

- 2^nd charge, a starting point of 9 months’ imprisonment, reduced to 6 months’ imprisonment for the defendant’s plea of guilty;

- 3^rd charge, after deduction of plea of guilty, a sentence of 1 month’s imprisonment; and

- The 4^th charge, after deduction for a plea of guilty, a sentence of 3 months’ imprisonment together with a 12 months’ disqualification from driving.

13. I take into account that effectively these offences were committed at the same time and represent a single item or a single occasion of criminality.  I am going to order that all sentences be served concurrently, a total of 14 months’ imprisonment.