HKSAR v. POON TAT MING

DCCC 132/2013

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 132 OF 2013

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawfully and maliciously wounding a lady called Chan Cheuk-lai, his cousin.

2.  The circumstances in which the offence occurred are that Miss Chan was visiting an aunt, a Madam Ko, who lives in Ma On Shan on 4 January 2013.  Miss Chan lives in New Zealand and she was on a visit to Hong Kong.  During her visit to Hong Kong, she was staying at her aunt’s residence in Ma On Shan. 

3.  At about noon on 4 January the defendant, the victim, the victim’s mother and Miss Ko were inside the flat.  At about 12.15 that day, the victim entered the kitchen of the flat followed by the defendant.  The defendant suddenly took out a blue cutter and caught Miss Chan from behind.  The defendant cut her neck with the cutter.  The victim was taken to hospital by her mother for medical treatment.  The case was reported to the police.

4.  Shortly after 2 pm, police officers arrived at the flat.  The defendant was searched and a blue cutter, about 5 inches in length, was found in his right front pocket of his pants. 

5.  The defendant was arrested and cautioned.  Under caution he said that the victim had badmouthed him when he was abroad a few years previously.  He said that he recalled the incident and was angry and so he cut the victim with a cutter. 

6.  In a subsequent cautioned interview, the defendant expanded on what he had said at the scene of arrest.  The defendant said he hated his cousin very much because she often badmouthed him and mocked him.  He knew that she was coming back to Hong Kong so he went to see her at his auntie’s home.  He said that when he saw his cousin, he felt a strong hatred against her and wanted to scare her with the cutter.  And he said he used the cutter lightly to cut her neck and the cutter was rusty.

7.  At the Accident & Emergency Department of the Prince of Wales Hospital the victim was treated for a fresh laceration wound, 4 centimetres long, at the side of the neck.

8.  The defendant who is aged 27 was born in Hong Kong.  He had an unfortunate experience in his teens.  He was educated in Australia for secondary education.  Unfortunately, when he was about 18, his father was found to have contracted cancer, so he had to return to Hong Kong.  His father died after he had returned to Hong Kong.  I am told that the following year his mother died.  I am told that with his inheritance, he was able to return to Australia to continue his studies, but he returned to Hong Kong before completing his degree.

9.  He came back to Hong Kong in 2012 and lived with his auntie, Madam Ko, in Ma On Shan.  I am told that he moved out of those premises a few months before the offence.  He felt that his auntie was simply keeping him because he was paying for his rent and his meals. 

10.  With regard to the cutter which the defendant used to commit this offence, I am told by the defence counsel that the defendant bought a new cutter to do some work in his home and he used this cutter a couple of days previously for that purpose and he simply left it in his pocket.  I am somewhat sceptical of that assertion.  Clearly when he went round to see his cousin, he said that he hated her because she had badmouthed others and mocked him.

11.  In my view, the defendant is somewhat fortunate that the prosecution have proceeded with the current charge rather than the more serious charge under section 17 of the Offences against the Person Ordinance.  What the defendant did was extremely dangerous and could have had very serious consequences.

12.  The main points in mitigation are that the defendant has a clear record; he admitted the offence when he was first confronted by the police; he made no effort to leave the flat before the police arrived and the cutter which he used to commit the offence was still in his pocket when the police arrived.  He claims that he used the cutter lightly to cut Chan’s neck. 

13.  Fortunately for the defendant, the wound was not a serious wound.  It does not appear to have been a deep wound and the victim has fully recovered.  And as offences of this kind go, this is at the lower end of the scale of seriousness.

14.  I should add that, not surprisingly, when the defendant first appeared before the magistrates’ court, the case was adjourned for a psychiatric evaluation of the defendant.  The opinion of the psychiatrist who saw him is that he does not suffer from any psychiatric problems. 

15.  I also take into account that the defendant has been in custody since his arrest on this charge. 

16.  Taking into account all the circumstances, I take a starting point of 18 months’ imprisonment for this offence and I reduce that by one-third to reflect the guilty plea of the defendant.  The defendant will therefore go to prison for 12 months.