HKSAR v. CHAN KING HUNG

DCCC466/2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 466 OF 2011

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Defendant, you pleaded guilty to two charges of using a false instrument, contrary to section 73 of the Crimes Ordinance, Cap.200.

2.  You admitted to using two forged credit cards at the SOGO Department Store at Causeway Bay to purchase a laptop computer valued at $11,388 on the 23 October 2010. 

3.  The 1st charge concerns the American Express card, which you presented for payment.  However, that transaction failed to go through.  You then produced a Westpac visa card in an attempt again to make payment for the laptop computer, that involves the 2nd charge.  However, that card also failed as that card was forged.

4.  Security was informed accordingly about the forged cards and you suddenly tried to run away.  However, you were intercepted by the security officers of SOGO and the police near-by.

5.  Under caution at the scene, you said that Westpac visa card was given to you by a man named “Ah Chun” for you to use. The American Express card was not found in your possession.  It was however found from the imprinted particulars made by the salesman at SOGO, that that American Express card that you had used in attempting to purchase the laptop computer was forged.

6.  Mr Joseph Chan, your solicitor has mitigated fully and adequately on your behalf today.  He has said all that he can says for you in mitigation.  He has correctly referred to me to the relevant cases, when considering sentence on forged credit cards.  Those cases are HKSAR v Chan Sui To, HKSAR v Tu I Lang and HKSAR v Yue Hoi San Shanly.

7.  You are aged 24 and have three previous convictions.  One of attempted theft in 2005, the other of AOABH in 2006 and a breach of probation order in 2007.  For those offences of attempted theft and AOABH, you were given probation and for your breach of probation order, you were given a further extension to probation.

8.  Mr Chan has submitted that since 2007 you have kept yourself out of trouble and had gainful employment.  You had worked in a restaurant as a waiter and also a sushi chef.  The reasons you committed this offence was because you had borrowed an iPhone from a friend called “Ah Chun” and has lost it after borrowing it.  Ah Chun demanded you give him a new iPhone or pay him $8,000 instead.  If you did not do so, he will threaten your family and chase them for payment.  Despite your request to ‘Ah Chun” to give you time to pay, he refused.

9.  However, Ah Chun then suggested that you repay him by using these forged credit cards to purchases the portable computer for him.  As you had no money to repay him and you did not want your family to be harassed by him, you agreed to use these credit cards.

10.  You now understand that it was a very foolish and wrongful thing to do.  I received a letter from you telling me , you are remorseful and also from your parents asking me to treat you as leniently as possible. 

11.  The two offences involved two forged credit cards.  In following the cases as mentioned earlier, I would consider this to be a very small scale operation.  It appears to me that the amount of goods involved were relatively small at $11,000 odd-dollars.  There was no international element, no evidence of any elaborate planning behind the offences.  There is no evidence that you were part of a larger operation and the evidence before me is that you were a mere cog in the wheel as a courier. 

12.  Defendant taking into account the above factors, the fact that you had used two forged credit cards in an attempt to purchase the computer and taking into account the principle of totality.  Had I convicted you after trial of these two offences I would have taken a starting point of 2½ years’ imprisonment.  Giving you full credit for your plea of guilty, that term should be reduced by one-third to which you will be sentenced to 1 year and 8 months’ imprisonment. That sentence is applicable to both charges.  Both charges are to run concurrently to each other.

13.  Therefore the defendant, your total sentence is 1 year and 8 months’ imprisonment.