HKSAR v. LEUNG KIN WAI

DCCC 913/2012

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 913 OF 2012

----------------------

---------------------

Reasons for Sentence

---------------------

1. Leung Kin-wai, you have pleaded guilty to four charges of burglary, Charges l, 2, 5, and 10, and two charges of handling stolen goods, Charges 11 and 12.

2. The burglaries took place within a period of just over two months between March and May 2012.  In each case the burgled premises were on the upper floors of high-rise buildings.  Entry to the flats took place while the occupants were out.  During the burglaries the personal items which are set out in the charges, some of which were of substantial value, were stolen.  In each case the occupants of the flats returned to find the doors to their flats open.  It was apparent that you had looked for flats that appeared to be empty and then called a locksmith and pretended to be the occupier of the flat in order to persuade him to open the flat for you.  You would then call Wong Sui-kwong, the older man with whom you were living, who would come and ransack the flat.  You have admitted that at least on some occasions you would be the person responsible for pawning the property stolen by the 2nd defendant.  You would then give money to the 2nd defendant.

3. These burglaries first came to light when the female occupant of the flat in the 10th charge came home in the afternoon of 23 May last year and found the door to her flat open.  She had seen you in the lift lobby, and found Wong Sui-kwong inside the flat.  He threatened her with a wooden pole and then both of you escaped.

4. Fortunately you and he were identified from the images captured by a CCTV camera in the building.  As a result, two days later the police conducted a raid at the Madera Hotel in the Yau Ma Tei area where you and the 2nd defendant were staying.  It was there that the police found not only you but Wong Sui-kwong and a very large quantity of stolen goods by means of which the police were able to link you to the burglaries which are now before the court.  The police also found house-breaking implements in the room.

5. The large quantity of items that have not been linked to particular burglaries, or particular burglaries the subject of charges against you, are the subject of the two handling charges to which you pleaded guilty.

6. Burglary of other peoples’ homes is a serious offence.  As I said to your co-defendants, it is not simply an offence involving the property of other people, it is a violation of their privacy and of their homes.  Even if a burglar is not discovered inside one’s own home, as happened to the victim of the 10th charge, it can still be deeply upsetting to the victim to know that strangers have been in their homes and stolen their belongings.  The loss to the victim is often not simply financial loss.  Stolen items often have a deep sentimental value upon which a price cannot be put. The stealing of things like passports, two-way permits, identity cards, bank cards, put the victims to great trouble and expense.

7. As you will now be aware, the normal starting point for those who commit an offence of burglary is 3 years’ imprisonment.  You have been convicted of four offences of burglary and two offences of handling.  In normal circumstances you could expect a long term of imprisonment.  However, because of your age at the time, and because of the fact that these offences were committed by you in the company of a considerably older man, I called for a background report from the probation service and a report to your suitability for training centre.  Both reports are very helpful to me in terms of your background.

8. The background report concludes with these words, “Some tough character training is considered necessary to prevent this young adult turning into a hard-core thief in the future.” 

9. The report from the training centre considers that you are suitable for training in a training centre. 

10. I am satisfied that that is the appropriate course in this particular case, and I propose to make an order that you be detained in a training centre. 

11. You are still a young man.  You have made a bad start to your adult life.  You have made bad choices in terms of the friends you make and the sort of lifestyle you lead, in particular turning to drugs. The fact you have made a bad start does not mean to say that you have to continue in this course.  Your future lies in your hands.  If you continue to associate with people like Wong Sui-kwong and people with triad backgrounds, if you continue to dabble with dangerous drugs, then you are likely to spent the rest of your life in and out of prison.  The choice is yours.  I would strongly advise you not to take that course.  Do not waste your life in that way.

12. I pass a sentence of detention in a training centre on all charges.