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DCCC1067/2010
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1067 OF 2010
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HKSAR |
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v. |
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Ho Ki-tat, Kevin |
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| Date: |
28 October 2010 at 12.24 pm |
| Present: |
Ms R Khubchandani, PP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Ms Chan Suk-han of Messrs Ho & Ip, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Defendant |
| Offence: |
Burglary (入屋犯法罪) |
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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, the particulars being that you, on 4 November of last year, entered as a trespasser the Figure Toy Export and Wholesale in the Sino Centre in Nathan Road, Mong Kok, and stole cash of $17,792.
2. The facts which you have admitted are straightforward. You were seen on the CCTV system of the shop entering the premises after they had been closed up for the night, opening the drawer with a key and taking the bag containing the money. You are an ex-employee of this company. You duplicated the keys to the premises and utilised them in the commission of this crime. By your actions, of course, you have broken the trust put in you by your ex-employers. To your credit you have surrendered yourself to the police and have admitted your guilt. This will be reflected in the sentence that I pass on you.
3. You are 31 years of age and single. You have two previous convictions, one of which is for dishonesty. I am told that the root of your problems stem from your gambling habit. You are a pathological gambler and have been receiving guidance and treatment from the social workers at a rehabilitation centre for problem gamblers, from whom I have received a letter. You owe a lot to your father, from whom I have also received a letter. He has paid full restitution to the victimised company on your behalf, and I am told that you, in turn, have been able to repay your father each month. He has given you tremendous support and stood by you. You should be grateful to him.
4. I have also received a letter from your ex-employer. He hired you knowing that you had a problem with gambling. You let him down badly by breaching his trust. He confirms to me in that letter that you have repaid his loss, and he is asking this court to be lenient. He tells me also in that letter that after the burglary you contacted him and expressed your remorse.
5. The normal starting point for burglaries of commercial premises is a sentence of 2½ years' imprisonment. Under normal circumstances I would have no hesitation in increasing that starting point by six months to one of 3 years to reflect the aggravating element of breach of trust in this case. However, this has, to some degree, been mitigated by your expression of remorse to the owner of the victimised premises immediately after the burglary, and the fact that full restitution has been made.
6. In these circumstances I will adopt 2½ years as my starting point. To reflect your plea of guilty I will discount
this by one-third, arriving at a sentence of 20 months' imprisonment.
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H H Judge Geiser |
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District Judge |
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