HKSAR v. KHALID WALEED

DCCC 178/2013

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 178 OF 2013

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted robbery, contrary to section 10 of the Theft Ordinance, Cap. 210 and 159G of the Crimes Ordinance, Cap. 200.

2.  You admitted that on 24 April 2012, near the junction of Walnut Street and Bedford Road, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, you together with Hussain Naveed attempted to rob a female by the name of Lee Yan-to.  That day at about 2 am, that is in the early hours of the morning, that female, Madam Lee, left her home at Tai Kok Tsui.  As she walked past the Church of Christ Primary School, she noticed you and Hussain Naveed.  As she continued to walk, she heard rushing footsteps behind her.  She was then suddenly grabbed from behind and a black cloth was then used to cover her face.  She struggled, at the same time she felt that her shoulder bag was being pulled away from her.  She resisted the pulling of her bag and she fell down.  When she fell down, she was dragged along the ground onto the carriageway.  As a passer-by walked past, you and the other assailant fled through an alleyway.  She noticed that you were one of the men who she saw near the Church of Christ Primary School earlier.

3.  You were arrested about three days later and admitted that you robbed her with another person.  You admitted that you failed in robbing her and you fled the scene. 

4.  During a search at your house, you provided the T-shirt which you had used to cover Madam Lee’s face.  At the time of the offence, you were 16 years of age and you had never committed an offence before.

5.  Mr Laurence Poots, your counsel, has mitigated fully and thoroughly on your behalf before me.  In view of your age, I called for a Training Centre report.  The report, of which I have received, says that you are not suitable for detention in a Training Centre as the medical officer is of the opinion you are a drug-dependant.  The drug you are dependant to, it would seem, is cannabis. The laboratory has confirmed that cannabis was found in the tests of your urine whilst you were remanded at the Training Centre. 

6.  You are now 17 years of age and 6 months.  You live with your family, mother, father, brother and sister in Kwai Chung in the New Territories.  The full background of yourself is detailed in the report and I shall not repeat what is there.  What is clear, however, is that you had ceased schooling in 2011 and did not start schooling again till March 2013 and only for one month.  So during the time that you committed the offence, you were not at school and was unemployed.  Since the commission of this offence, your family have been very supportive to you.  I see that your eldest brother has tried to keep you out of trouble by offering you a job at his second-hand clothing business.   I am aware of the contents of the letters written by your mother, your sister, your brother and a District Councillor, Mr Chow Yik-hei, all of whom speak of you as a very kind person, not a delinquent and a good son and brother.  They were all quite bewildered and shocked by your commission of this offence.  For yourself, you have said that you realise that you had some bad friends and good friends and that when this happened, you did not think about the seriousness of the crime.  You now know how serious this crime is and you want every chance to turn your life around and start a new and good future.  Your whole family, including that of the counsellor, has asked me to give you a lenient sentence.

7.  You are of clear record.  You were 16 when you committed this offence.  I accept that it was an one-off out-of-character offence.  I am sure, however, your counsel, Mr Poots, has informed you that for robbery and even attempted robbery offences, these are considered to be very very serious offences which warrant immediate sentences of imprisonment.  Even on the cases to which your counsel submitted to me at the last hearing of R v Cheung Wing-wai 289 Cr App 1992 and HKSAR v Wong Tsz-hin CACC38/2012, although the courts considered Training Centre instead of sentences of imprisonment, the courts there recognised that for robbery sentences range although they are not fixed, at about 4 years’ imprisonment after trial.

8.  Defendant, Ms Lee had just left her home, it was early in the morning at about 2 am.  She was a young woman of 23.  Hong Kong is known to be a safe place.  One expects to walk in the streets of Hong Kong without getting robbed or attacked.  This city is well known for its safeness. What you did is not what Hong Kong is known for.  You have tarnished its reputation. This girl walked out into the streets having just left her home, she was not safe because of the presence of you and your accomplice.  She had seen you both lurking before you pounced upon her.  She heard you running towards her, she must have felt extreme fear, particularly when you covered her face with a cloth.  When she fell down, you and your co-assailant then dragged her along the ground to the carriageway. This is, I accept not the worst kind of robbery but there are factors which place it into a more serious robbery.  You did this not on your own but with one other which makes this an aggravating factor.  I accept that the girl had no injuries or was not required to be taken to hospital however it was very fortunate that she did not incur any injuries although she was dragged.  It was most fortunate that a passer-by came before you managed to steal her bag as that made you both flee.

9.  Defendant, despite your clear record and all the good character references that you have had, I must punish you for the offence to which you have committed.  Defendant, for this offence, I would have taken a starting point of 4 years’ imprisonment had I convicted you after trial.  You have, however, pleaded guilty and pleaded at the very first instance.  This is your strongest mitigating factor.   On that basis, your sentence will be reduced by one-third and you shall be sentenced to 2 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.