HKSAR v. CHAN YUI KAI

 DCCC1312/2009

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1312 OF 2009

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a single charge of Burglary, contrary to section 11(1)(b) and (4) of the Theft Ordinance, Cap. 210, Laws of Hong Kong.

2.  The particulars being that in the morning of 28 October 2009 you entered as a trespasser the premises at Room 816, 8th Floor, Block 6, Lei Muk Shue 2 Estate, Kwai Chung and stole HK$6,330, one pendant and one cake redemption coupon.

3.  You gained entry to these premises by duping the occupant of the premises, an 82-year-old lady, that you were there to check the water pipes as the building was out of electricity and water supply.

4.  Trusting you, and believing you to be genuine, the old lady allowed you into her premises only to find that you had prised open a drawer in her bedroom and taken away her belongings when her attention had been deliberately diverted by yourself.

5.  You have an appalling criminal record. You have 31 previous convictions, 13 of which are for burglaries. Your last conviction was in February of last year when you were imprisoned for six months for assaulting a police officer.

6.  You have most unfortunately lost your father in November of last year due to a heart attack and then tragically, I’m told, your wife passed away in December due to cancer.

7.  You have expressed your remorse for the commission of the present offence in a letter to the court. That remorse is also reflected by your plea of guilty and I will take this into account in sentencing you.

8.  The starting point for domestic burglaries is a sentence of 3 years’ imprisonment. However, this is dependent on there being no aggravating features.

9.  In this particular case the fact that you took advantage of an 82-year-old woman in the commission of this offence is an aggravating feature, as is the fact that you are a persistent repeat offender so far as burglaries are concerned.

10.  In the circumstances I propose to adopt a starting point of 4 years’ imprisonment, enhancing the normal starting point by one year to reflect these aggravating features. I will reduce this by one-third to reflect your plea of guilty, coming to a sentence of 2 years 8 months’ imprisonment.