CRIMINAL CASE NO. 271 OF 2010
COURT: Chiu Ho-chuen and Choi Chiu-kit - you have each pleaded guilty in the Magistrates’ Court to one charge of robbery and one charge of conspiracy to commit robbery, and you have each been committed to the High Court for sentence.
I have given separate consideration to each of you. In deciding how each of you should be sentenced, I have taken into account everything urged on behalf of each of you.
The robbery was of a woman who operated a one-woman brothel. It was you, Mr Choi, who pointed a cutter at the victim, bound her with adhesive tape, blindfolded her and took from her $4,000 in cash and her mobile phone.
Your role, Mr Chiu, was to buy the adhesive tape and act as a lookout.
The conspiracy was to commit a similar robbery in a similar way.
You are both young. Mr Choi was born in 1990 and is now 20 years old; and Mr Chiu was born in 1992 and is now aged 17.
Mr Choi suggested the robbery which was committed and the robbery which you two conspired to commit. I will not hold that against Mr Choi but I take it into account in Mr Chiu’s favour.
Dealing with you, Mr Choi - first, I adopt a starting point of 7 years for the robbery and of 6½ years for the conspiracy.
For you, Mr Chiu - I adopt a starting point of 6 years for the robbery and 5½ years for the conspiracy.
For offences like these, youth and a clear record generally count for little or nothing. But having regard to all the circumstances of each of you, I will not wholly disregard these elements.
Of course, the principal mitigation for each of you consists of your guilty plea, which alone attracts a one-third discount.
The sentences for you, Mr Choi, are 4 years and 6 months for the robbery and 4 years and 2 months for the conspiracy.
For you Mr Chiu, the sentences are 3 years and 10 months for the robbery and 3 years and 6 months for the conspiracy.
The robbery and the conspiracy were separate offences, but, on the principle of totality and to ensure that you are not sentenced too severely, I will make the sentences partly concurrent and partly consecutive.
1 year of Mr Choi's sentence for conspiracy will be served consecutively to his sentence for robbery.
9 months of Mr Chiu's sentence for conspiracy will be served consecutively to his sentence for robbery.
So Mr Choi, you will go to prison for a total of 5 years and 6 months; and you, Mr Chiu, will go to prison for a total of 4 years and 7 months.
Each of you are so sentenced.