HKSAR v. WOO KIN YAN

 DCCC562/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONGSPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 562 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Woo Kin-yan, you have been convicted on your own plea of the offence of attempted burglary of the accounting room of the Goldjoy Seafood Restaurant in Kwun Tong on 23 March this year.

2.  The restaurant closed for business at 11 pm and a member of the staff locked the main door. Unknown to him, you had entered the restaurant earlier and hidden yourself. At about midnight you attempted to enter the accounting room by kicking the door in order to steal.

3.  Fortunately, the staff member who had locked the restaurant earlier was still in the kitchen and heard the noise of what you were doing. He came out of the kitchen and confronted you. Fearing that you would attack him, he armed himself with a wine bottle, but you knelt down and asked him not to attack you. You then waited while he reported the matter to the police.

4.  When the police arrived, you were cautioned. You admitted that you had intended to steal because you were unemployed and had no money. You alleged that you needed the money in order to buy food.

5.  As I am sure Mr McGuinniety will have informed you, the normal starting point for those who commit the full offence of burglary in non-domestic premises is 2½ years’ imprisonment.

6.  Although the charge against you is one of attempted burglary, nevertheless, for practical purposes, there is very little difference between what you did and the full offence of burglary. Of course, I do bear in mind that you did not manage to gain entrance to the accounting room and were stopped before you had managed to steal anything.

7.  In normal circumstances I would have regarded a term of immediate imprisonment as inevitable for this sort of offence, particularly for a man of your age who has been in trouble with the police and before the courts before.

8.  In your case, however, there are circumstances which, in my view, justify giving you one last chance to get your life on the right track before terms of imprisonment become inevitable.

9.  I am told that shortly after your arrest you were introduced to Operation Dawn by a social worker. Mr Leung Kin-hung encouraged you to seek drug treatment and finally you approached and were admitted to the Operation Dawn programme. Although you were discharged from the programme in July when you were caught smoking, you were re-admitted to the centre on 9 August.

10.  The letters I have received from the centre indicate that you have shown a positive attitude towards the centre’s drug treatment and rehabilitation program. This was confirmed by Miss Helen Chan, the probation officer, who has provided me with a most helpful report.

11.  Following her recommendation, I am prepared, if you agree, to take the exceptional course of putting you on probation for a period of 18 months. Before I do so, you will have to agree to the conditions that will be attendant upon that order, so listen carefully.

12.  The conditions of your probation would be that:

you should complete the full detoxification program in Operation Dawn;

you should submit to random urine tests;

you should be of good behaviour and keep the peace; and

you should work and reside where your probation officer directs.

13.  If you should fail to abide by those conditions, you are liable to be brought back to court and dealt with for this offence again. Almost inevitably that means you will be sent to prison.

14.  Are you prepared to consent to a probation order under those terms?

DEFENDANT: Yes.

15.  Very well, I make a probation order for 18 months, attaching thereto the conditions to which I have just referred; firstly, that you should complete the full detoxification program at Operation Dawn; you should submit to random urine tests; you should be of good behaviour and keep the peace; and you should work and reside where directed by your probation officer.