HKSAR v. LIU CHUN YIN

DCCC 882/2009

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 882 OF 2009

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Reasons for Sentence

1.  The defendant pleaded guilty to one charge of burglary. He is a former employee of a telecommunication device installation company. He kept the key to the gate of the warehouse of the company after he left his employment with the company. On the consecutive evenings of 28 June 2009 and 29 June 2009 the defendant gained entry to the warehouse with the use of the key he kept. He stole 18 rolls of electric cables (valued at HK$205,000) and sold them off to a metal shop for profit.

2.  The defendant allegedly came from a decent family. He told his solicitor and the probation officer that both of his parents died sequentially within 2 months in the year of 1999. The defendant did not provide the identity of any of his relations. He lived on comprehensive social security at the age of 20 in the year of 2003. The defendant said he lived in destitution for 4 years from 2003 to 2007. There was no lead at the moment of the ways the court could have helped to try to resolve the problem of the defendant.

3.  The defendant abused his position as a former employee of the company in using the key of the former employer to steal from him. The mode of burglary though not sophisticated, the acts of burglary spread over 2 nights and electric cables worth a total of HK$205,000 was stolen. In light of the value of the goods and the repetition of his acts, I adopt a starting point of 2 years 9 months for sentence. The defendant has 3 previous convictions of selling copyright infringing articles for which he was sentenced to a total of 14 months imprisonment in November 2007 and in January 2008. I accord the defendant due credit for his plea of guilty, indicating his remorse and saving the court’s time, I sentenced him to a term of 1 year 10 months by giving him a 1/3 discount.