HKSAR v. LIAO JIAN

 DCCC614/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 614 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of "Robbery".

Summary of Facts

2.  At the material time, Madam HUANG (PW1) was a prostitute operating her business at the address particularized in the charge.

3.  At about 9:30 pm on 13 April 2010, the defendant patronized PW1. After they had sex, PW1 went to take a shower. Suddenly, the defendant entered the bathroom holding a meat knife (approximately 34 cm long). He pointed the knife at PW1 and said "Don't shout, robbery!" PW1 handed her bag to the defendant. Whilst the defendant was searching through her bag, PW1 (who was still naked) took the opportunity to escape.

4.  PW1 dashed downstairs and shouted for help. She met a passer-by and told that person what happened. She then returned to her flat to clean herself. PW1 went to the bathroom without closing the door of her flat. During her shower, she saw the defendant in the corridor outside her flat. She immediately shouted for help. The defendant ran down the stairs. PW1 followed him and told the passers-by that the defendant had just robbed her.

5.  At the same time, Mr. FAN (PW2), who was walking past the building, saw PW1 shouting for help. He phoned the Police. A few minutes later, PW2 saw the defendant running down the stairs, he and other passers-by went forward and subdued the defendant. When the Police arrived, PW1 identified the defendant as the robber. A pile of banknotes totalling to $320 were found in the defendant's right rear trouser pocket. The bag carried by him was found on the staircase near PW1's flat. It contained, inter alia, a paper sheath and a roll of sealing tape.

6.  Under caution, the defendant admitted that he robbed PW1 because he had no money and had not eaten for several days. He bought the knife in Tuen Mun at about 7:00 pm on the same day for the purpose of committing robbery. He also bought the sealing tape the day before for the same purpose. He took $320 from PW1 and put the banknotes in his rear trouser pocket.

Mitigation & Sentence

7.  The defendant is only 19 and has a clear record. He was born in the mainland. His parents divorced when he was 13. His mother subsequently remarried. He came to Hong Kong in 2008 to live with his mother and stepfather. He last worked as a cook in a Japanese restaurant in Tuen Mun earning $7,000 per month; however, he lost his job in November 2009.

8.  In the course of mitigation, Mr. PANG explained that since the defendant was unemployed, he had borrowed about $30,000 from finance companies. Due to harassment by debt collectors, the defendant left home a few days before the offence. At the time of the offence, he had no money left in his pocket.

9.  Based on section 109A(1A) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap.221) and owing to the seriousness of this case, I took the view (and Mr. PANG agreed) that it was unnecessary to obtain any pre-sentencing reports. The only available sentencing option in this case is immediate imprisonment.

10.  According to the Court of Appeal's decision in MO Kwong-sang v The Queen [1981] HKLR 610, the appropriate sentence in an ordinary case of armed robbery where the accused carried a knife or other dangerous weapon which he displayed to his victim, should be 5 years imprisonment. If such a robbery also involves an invasion of private premises, a sentence of 6 years would be appropriate. If other aggravating factors are present such as invasion of domestic premises during the night, threats made to victims, ill-treatment of victims , the sentence should be increased.

11.  What the defendant did in the present case is beyond comprehension. He was broke, yet he could spare the money to purchase a meat knife and a roll of sealing tape. He had not eaten for a few days, but instead of stealing food or using the knife money to buy food, he went all the way from Tuen Mun to Sham Shui Po to have sex with a prostitute before robbing her. Robbing a prostitute when she was in the shower is one of the most despicable and loathsome things to do, not only in our society, but even in the field of robbery.

12.  The facts of this case are simply appalling. The defendant deliberately exploited the vulnerability of PW1. He must be punished severely. Notwithstanding his young age and clear record, I consider the appropriate starting point to be 6.5 years. One-third discount is given for his guilty plea, reducing to the sentence to 4 years and 4 months (52 months). Apart from this, I see no other mitigating factors which warrant any further discount. The sentence I pass is 4 years and 4 months.