HKSAR v. YUNG CHUNG HEI

DCCC 972/2008

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION 

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 972 OF 2008

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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1. The defendant Mr YUNG Chung-hei faces 6 charges.  Charge 1 is wounding, contrary to section 19 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance, Cap. 212. Charges 2 to 5 are assault occasioning actual bodily harm, contrary to Common Law and punishable under section 39 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance, Cap. 212.  Charge 6, as amended, is claiming to be a member of a triad society, contrary to section 20(2) of the Societies Ordinance, Cap. 151.  The particulars of the offences are set out in the charge sheet and the court is not going to repeat them here now.

2.  The defendant pleads not guilty to all the charges but is convicted of them after trial.

Facts Found

3.  According to the facts found by the court during the trial Mr CHAN Kin, victim of Charge 1 (“PW5”), is the elder brother of Mr CHAN Chit, victim of Charge 2 (“PW6”).  On 14.9.2008 at about 1 a.m. they together with their friends Mr Chung Chun-yu, victim of Charge 3 (“PW7”), Mr CHAN Wai-yip, victim of Charge 4 (“PW8”) and Mr MOK Kam-lung, victim of Charge 5 (“PW9”) were walking past Pik Hoi House of Choi Hung Estate on their way home when a group of about 20 males led by the defendant approached them.  The defendant pointed at PW6 and said, “that’s him.”  The 5 victims were then attacked by the group.

4.  After the attack, the defendant said something about “Fook Cheuk” which meant taking revenge and said that he was “Kowloon Tsai Shing Wo” meaning that he was a member of the Wo Shing Wo triad society being active in or occupying Kowloon Tsai.  The defendant also said, “don’t appear in the vicinity of Wong Tai Sin and Choi Hung Estate.  Every time you’re seen, you’ll be beaten up.”

5.  As a result of the attack PW5 sustained abrasions over left elbow, redness and swelling over right arm and left chest, 1 cm laceration at left ear, superficial laceration at left cheek, swelling over upper lip, 3 cm superficial laceration with swelling at left occipital region and multiple abrasions over head and face.

6.  There were abrasions over left palm, upper lip and left forehead and tenderness over left shoulder, left side of jaw and left side of scalp of PW6.  PW7 suffered abrasions over left cheek and tenderness over right hand while PW8 suffered abrasions over right shoulder, right wrist and right temporal regions.  The injuries of PW9 included abrasions over left side of face and forehead, swelling over forehead and tenderness over left loin and left forearm.

7.  About 1 to 2 weeks before the attack PW5 and PW6 had a telephone conversation with the defendant about the defendant trying to court their sworn sister by repeatedly telephoning her.  They told the defendant not to ring her up any more because she already had a boyfriend and there was an argument among them.

Criminal Record

8.  The defendant has 3 previous convictions of arson in February 2006 for which he was sentenced to community service order of 100 hours.

Background Report

9.  The court obtains a Background Report of the defendant before sentencing.  According to the report he is aged 20 and is single.  He was brought up in an ordinary nuclear family of concerning parents and is the elder of 2 siblings.  His parents are both working and the family has always been financially sufficient.  He was assessed to be a hyperactive child during his primary school years and he has been suffering from a heart disease since childhood which still requires regular medical attention.

10.  He completed Form 5 education but failed in all the 6 subjects he took in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination.  After that he attended 2 or 3 short curses at the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre of the Vocational Training Council.  He has been studying accounting at Caritas Bianchi College of Careers since January 2009.

11.  The defendant is unmotivated in both studies and work.  He remains idle for most of the time and only has working experience as a waiter in a restaurant for a short period of time.  He mostly takes up part-time jobs of a waiter in various hotels for 5 to 6 times a month earning about $180 to $200 a day.

12.   He denies being one of the assailants and says that he was not present when PW5 to PW9 were attacked on 14.9.2008.  He says that he was framed up by the prosecution witnesses who claimed themselves to be members of Tsim Sha Tsui San Yee On triad society”.

Detention and Training Centres Report

13.  The court also obtains a Detention and Training Centres Report on the defendant.  The report sets out the background of the defendant which is similar to that in the Background Report.  The report also points out that the defendant is suitable for admission to the Training Centre.

Mitigation

14.  The counsel for the defendant points out in mitigation that the defendant comes from a family of concerning parents.  They are, however, unable to pay full attention to the defendant as they both are working.  They attribute the commission of the offences by the defendant to his association with dubious peers.

15.  The counsel adds that the defendant has behaved well during the time of bail and has even enrolled in a bookkeeping course.  He now has an insight of his problem.   According to the counsel the defendant has indicated to him that he being of the age of 20 years and 5 months is too old for Training Centre.  The counsel asks the court to be lenient to the defendant.

Sentence

16.  The defendant ganged up with about 20 males to attack the 5 victims over some trivial matter.  He did so only because PW5 and PW6 had had an argument with him about his flirting with the sworn sister of the 2 victims.  The case was further  aggravated by the use of triad jargons and claiming of triad membership by the defendant.    Fortunately, the injuries suffered by the victims were not too serious. 

17.  The defendant does not have any sense of remorse and still holds a denial attitude.  He no doubt has made no reflection at all of his misdeeds and has not learnt any lesson from the present incident.  Having considered all the relevant circumstances the court concurs with the Correctional Services officer compiling the Detention and Training Centres Report that in order to enable the defendant to gain more insight into his problem and facilitate his rehabilitation, a period of disciplinary training in a closed setting with a term of post-training supervision is beneficial to him.  The court is of the view that the Training Centre regime best serves the purpose.  For the offences the defendant stands convicted he is sent to the Training Centre.