HKSAR v. CHAN LAI HONG

DCCC 695/2017

[2018] HKDC 245

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 695 OF 2017

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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1.  The defendant, Chan Lai Hong, pleaded guilty before me to one charge of bookmaking.

2.  The facts reveal that on the afternoon of 16 April 2016 police officers conducted an operation at a premises in Tsuen Wan Centre, Tsuen Wan, New Territories.  At about 3.27 pm, a police officer knocked at the iron grille of the premises.  The defendant opened the wooden door of the premises.  The officer produced proof of his identity and demanded to search the flat under a Gambling Authorisation.  The defendant closed the door immediately.  Verbal warning was given.  At 3.30 pm, the defendant opened the door.  Police officers entered the flat.  The defendant was the only person inside the premises.  A search was then carried out.

3.  In one of the rooms of the premises used as a study, police officers found one desktop computer with two monitors, one horseracing section of a newspaper dated 16 April 2016, three iPhones, one notebook, two pens and two highlighters, and other items.

4.  On one of the iPhones, some WeChat messages with a person nicknamed “Fa Fa” were found, suggesting that the defendant was involved in bookmaking. Thus, the defendant was arrested for bookmaking.  He was cautioned.  Under caution, the defendant said he only earned the stakes of offshore horseracing. A body search was then conducted on the defendant and a piece of paper believed to be a betting record was found in the right hidden pocket of the defendant’s jeans. 

5.  The defendant was then taken to the study for further investigation. The defendant provided the password for the computer.  A police officer with the password logged on the computer and found the records of a website named “CITIBET”.  The defendant then provided the police with the user name “bc5005” and the password of the user.

6.  An officer of Technology Crime Division was summoned to the premises and he captured 55 screen images of the contents of the website. 

7.  The following items were also found in the premises.  Inside the defendant’s bag: (a) cash of $8,290; (b) cash of RMB140; (c) a key to the wooden door of the premises were found.  The police also found cash of $20,000 and a rental agreement of the premises, of which the tenant was a Mr Lee Chi Kan, inside a drawer in the bedroom.

8.  The computer and the iPhones were subsequently submitted to Technology Crime Division for further investigation, resulting in the extraction of the same 55 images of the website logged on with the defendant’s password from the computer and three images of WeChat messages from one the iPhones.

9.  In a subsequent cautioned video recorded interview, the defendant admitted that the four WeChat messages in the iPhone seized from him dated between 28 March 2016 and 11 April 2016 were all related to bookmaking.  He admitted that the iPhone seized from him was his and “Fa Fa” on the WeChat was his female friend from Shenzhen.  The defendant had been unemployed and was introduced by “Fa Fa” to earn commissions from horseracing bets. 

10.  The defendant admitted that he logged on the computer with the password.  He would then connect the computer to the Internet.  He would enter the CITIBET website and log on the webpage with the username “bc5005”.  He would then enter the password to gain access to the webpage.

11.  The defendant also explained various contents of the printout of the transaction records of the website.  The date of the transactions, the racecourse in question, the odds of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the total number of races, the winnings and losses of the races, the gambling amount, and the bets that he received were all recorded.  The credit limit granted by the website and the account summary recording the total winnings and losses were also recorded.

12.  The defendant admitted that he had been engaged in bookmaking activity for half a year.  He received a commission of 0.01 per cent irrespective of winnings and losses.  He only acted as a middleman for others.  A person known as “Ming Gor”, who was a friend of “Fa Fa”, provided the defendant with the account of “bc5005”.  The defendant would meet “Fa Fa” every seven days to hand over the stakes. 

13.  The defendant admitted that he earned commissions of a total of about $20,000 on 3, 6, 10 and 13 April 2016.  The defendant said the paper seized from him was the betting record.  Others asked the defendant to help with placing bets.  Circles and triangles on the betting record showed the bets that he had already placed on the website.  The defendant said most of the people who asked him to place the bets settled their bets with “Fa Fa”.

14.  As for the cash found inside the defendant’s bag and the cash found inside a drawer in the bedroom, the defendant said the money was not related to bookmaking.  The defendant said he would earn $10,000 per month from the website and he knew that offshore horseracing was illegal.

15.  The captured images of the relevant website on the computer and the WeChat messages on the iPhone were subsequently shown to a gambling expert. The gambling expert confirmed that CITIBET provided a platform for illegal horseracing betting.  Members of the website would either place bets or receive bets, ie “eat bets”, via the website.  In other words, members could take part in the gambling activities in the capacity of punters or bookmakers. 

16.  According to the website of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, 3, 6, 10, 13 and 16 April 2016 were horseracing days.  The images of the website retrieved from the computer showed that the defendant received bets of a total of $10,117,856.32 as an account holder “bc5005” on the website on the said five horseracing days.

17.  The defendant is 37 years old.  He has a clear record.  He was educated locally up to Form 5.  He works as a construction site worker, earning $20,000 per month.  The defendant’s father, who is in his 60s, lives in Fukien.  The defendant lives with his wife and an infant son.  The defendant’s mother helps to take care of the infant son as the wife has to work part time.

18.  Mr Boyton submits that the defendant made full and frank admissions to the police, not only at the time of his arrest but also when he was interviewed.  Not only did the defendant provide the passwords for the logging on of the computer and the website CITIBET, the defendant also explained the contents of the WeChat messages and the transaction records in the computer.  Without the admissions and co-operation of the defendant, there would not be sufficient evidence against the defendant.  Mr Boyton submits that the present case is one that some additional discount should be given to the defendant for his admissions and co-operation.

19.  Mr Boyton submits that the defendant only earned 0.01% commissions from the bets and the defendant, in order to reduce the risk as a bookmaker, he would offload the bets onto another racing website for the illegal horseracing gambling.

20.  In sentencing the defendant, I have borne in mind the facts of the case and the nature of the charge.  As Mr Boyton has rightly pointed out, the defendant is not facing any charge of money laundering offence and he should only be sentenced for the offence of bookmaking that he pleaded guilty to.

21.  That said, the offence that the defendant committed is a serious one. On five horseracing days, the defendant had received bets of $10,117,856.32 as an account holder on the website CITIBET and he had earned commissions of a total of about $20,000.

22.  Given the scale of the bookmaking and the amount of money involved, an immediate term of imprisonment is the only appropriate form of sentence.

23.  In my judgment, a starting point of 3½ years’ imprisonment is appropriate.  The defendant is entitled to one-third reduction for his guilty plea and clear record.

24.  I do not think the fact that the defendant uploaded the bets he had received onto illegal horseracing website has the effect of militating against the seriousness of the offence.  The defendant just channelled the bets into an illegal horseracing website as a risk control measure.

25.  I agree with Mr Boyton that the defendant merits some additional reduction for his admissions and co-operation with the police, without which the police would not have enough evidence against the defendant.  In my judgment, the admissions and co-operation of the defendant merits an additional reduction of 6 months.

26.  For the reasons given, the starting point of 3½ years is reduced to 2 years and 4 months because of the guilty plea and clear record.

27.  The sentence is further reduced by 6 months to 22 months for the admissions and co-operation.

28.  For the reasons given, I sentence the defendant to 22 months’ imprisonment.