HKSAR v. CHEUNG CHUEN SANG

 DCCC40/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 40 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  The defendant is convicted after trial on a charge of burglary committed on 14 November 2009 at GT (Ellen Yeung) College, No. 10, Ling Kwong Street, Tseung Kwan O. There is no dispute that it was a non-domestic premises.

2.  As stated in my verdict, I found that he was the person who broke the water pipes on the rooftop of the college intending to steal the water pipes. It was stated in the admitted facts, Exhibit P9, that the costs for repairing the water pipes were $9,500.

3.  The defendant has four previous convictions resulting from three cases, including a previous conviction of burglary sentenced on 28 May 2007 for 18 months.

4.  According to the defendant’s antecedents statement, the defendant is now 36 years old. He was born in the Mainland and moved to Hong Kong in mid-1987. He is single. He received education up to Primary 3 level in the Mainland. He used to be a factory worker and a construction site worker. He was last discharged from prison on 3 January 2008.

5.  Nothing much was advanced in mitigation, except that I was told that the defendant was not a drug addict.

6.  The usual starting point for burglary of non-domestic premises is 2½ years. That conventional starting point relates to burglaries with no aggravating or mitigating features. In the present case, I do not intend to treat the defendant’s previous conviction of burglary as an aggravating factor. At the same time, a number of water pipes were damaged which cost $9,500 to repair. The extent of damage cannot be said to be minimal. I do not find any mitigating features justifying any reduction from the usual starting point.

7.  I therefore sentence the defendant to 2½ years' imprisonment.