HKSAR v. CHEN TIENEN alias CHAN TIN MAN

HCCC 524/2014

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 524 OF 2014

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT: The defendantpleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, the 1st and 4th court; two counts of attempted robbery, 2nd and 3rd counts; two counts of theft, 5th and 6th counts, and one count of attempting to possess arms and ammunition without a licence, the 7th count.

At about 3.30 pm on 17 May 2014 near the shore of Lau Fau Shan Fish Market, Mr Kwok saw the defendant got on a sampan belonging to his friend. He immediately informed his friend who summoned others to help.

The defendant was subsequently arrested by the police on board the sampan. He admitted that he was an illegal immigrant. He stole the sampan to return to China. This is the facts of the 6th count.

The defendant was taken back to Tin Shui Wai Police Station for investigation. At about 7.10 pm on the same day when a police officer took fingerprints from the defendant, he tried to snatch the officer’s revolver. He was subdued. He told the officer in a subsequentvideo-recorded interview that he wanted to hold the officer hostage and escape. This is the 7th count.

In other subsequent video interviews the defendant also admitted that he had committed the following offences:

(a) At about 0048 am on 16 May 2014 the defendant entered the 7-Eleven shop at 22-32 Hoi Pa Street, Tsuen Wan and declared robbery. He was wearing a surgical mask. He had a stun gun with him. He took away $2,000 from the cash register and a mobile phone from one of the staff. He was positively identified by the staff in an ID parade. The 1st count.

(b) At about 3.47 pm on the same day he declared robbery again at the 7-Eleven shop 10 Changsha Street. He brandished a stun gun. The staff alerted a customer who happened to enter the shop at this moment. The customer ran off and called the police. The defendant then fled. He was positively identified by the staff in an ID parade. The 2nd count.

(c) At about 0115 hours on 17 May 2014, the defendant entered the 7-Eleven shop at 106 to 108 Austin Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. He declared robbery. The staff refused to open the cash register. The defendant left. He was positively identified by the staff in an ID paragraph. The 3rd count.

(d) At about 0235 on 17 May 2014, the defendant robbed the 7-Eleven shop at 2-6 On Wing Street, Tsuen Wan. He had a stun gun with him. He drank a bottle of white wine and took away $5,100 from the cash register. He was positively identified by the staff in an ID parade. The 4th and the 5th count.

The defendant claimed to be born on 2 April 1987. The official criminal record shows that he was born on 17 February 1979. This issue, however, would not affect the sentence. I however think the latter date is likely to be true given his first offence in Hong Kong was in 1998.

He is illiterate. He came from Fujian Province. His parents passed away when he was only 5 years old. He had eight previous convictions from 1998 to 2011. They are mostly illegal immigrant offences. He was imprisoned for 6 months in 1998 for possession of an imitation firearm. He was imprisoned for 3 months in 2003 for possession of an offensive weapon. He was last sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment for attempted robbery in 2011.

The defendant is a repeated offender. He used a stun gun to threaten the staff, although no one was injured. He robbed four Convenience shops within two days. I take all this as aggravating.

The appropriate starting point for the robberies is 6 years’ imprisonment according to Mo Kwong San v The Queen.

I have considered the sentencing authorities submitted by Mr Yuen, counsel for the defendant. I do not think there is any mitigating factor other than his plea.

For the 1st count, I take a starting point of 6 years’ imprisonment. I deduct 2 years for the plea. I sentence him to 4 years’ imprisonment.

For the 2nd count, I take a starting point of 5 years’ imprisonment. I deduct 1 year and 8 months for the plea. I sentence him to 3 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.

For the 3rd count, I take a starting point of 5 years’ imprisonment. I deduct 1 year and 8 months for the plea. I sentence him to 3 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.

For the 4th count, I take a starting point of 6 years’ imprisonment. I deduct 2 years for the plea. I sentence him to 4 years’ imprisonment.

For the 5th count, I take a starting point of 1 year imprisonment, I deduct 4 months for his plea. I sentence him to 8 months’ imprisonment.

For the 6th count, I take a starting point of 2 years’ imprisonment. I deduct 8 months for the plea. I sentence him to 16 months’ imprisonment.

For the 7th count, I take a starting point of 6 years’ imprisonment. I deduct 2 years for the plea, I sentence him to 4 years’ imprisonment.

I further order that:

(a) 6 months of the sentences of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th counts to run consecutive to the 1st count;

(b) the sentence of the 5th count to run concurrent to the 1st count;

(c) 3 years of the sentence of the 7th count to run consecutive to the 1st count.

The defendant has to serve a total of 9 years’ imprisonment.