HKSAR v WONG CHI KONG

DCCC 25/2013

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 25 OF 2013

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to two charges before this court; the 1st charge is that of robbery, contrary to section 10 of the Theft Ordinance and the 2nd charge is that of going equipped for stealing, contrary to section 27(1) of the same ordinance.

2.  You admitted that on 14 October 2012 you robbed a cashier at the Circle K Convenience Store located on the Ground Floor of Fortune Shopping Centre, No 8 Hang Cheung Street, Cheung Sha Wan, of cash of $1,381.50. 

3.  You also admitted that approximately a week later, on 22 October, near the junction of Hing Wah Street and Hang Cheung Street, Cheung Sha Wan, you had with you a surgical mask, a pair of gloves, a cap and a knife, for use in the course of or in connection with theft. 

4.  The facts of the robbery can be very briefly set out as follows:- In the early hours of 14 October the victim, the cashier, was working at Circle K Convenience Store.  At about 4.05 am you went into the Circle K Convenience Store wearing a surgical mask.  You took a magazine from the shelf and went to the cashier.  When the victim the cashier, was going to handle the payment for the magazine, you suddenly took out a knife which was about a foot long and jumped on the desk of the cashier counter, pointed the knife at the cashier and shouted, “Robbery.”  The cashier was very frightened and opened the cash register for you.  You then took the money and fled.

5.  Your act of robbing the cashier was captured on the CCTV of the shop.

6.  As for the second charge, about a week later, on 22 October, at about 2.42 in the morning, the police spotted you wearing a mask and wandering around at the junction of Hing Wah Street and Hang Cheung Street.  At that time you were looking at the 7-Eleven Shop from time to time which was across the road.  You were intercepted by the officers and found upon you was the mask, the gloves, the cap and the 32-centimetre long knife in your trousers pocket and a bag you were carrying.   

7.  Under caution, you stated that you had originally intended to use the knife to rob the 7-Eleven Shop but you decided not to after you thought about it, so you left. 

8.  Under caution, you admitted that you robbed the cashier at the Circle K Convenience Store on 14 October.  You were wandering near the 7-Eleven on 22 October as you were struggling whether to rob Shop 7-Eleven.  You had worn a surgical mask that early morning so no one would recognize you.  You had brought another surgical mask for the same purpose, and you brought the gloves as you intended to use it to avoid leaving fingerprints.

9.  Your solicitor, Mr Jacky Lee, has made, in his usual fashion, very thorough mitigation and provided me with authorities in respect of mitigation. 

10.  You are 26 years of age and of clear record.  At the date of your plea, Mr Lee had informed me that you had been out of school since 2006.  Since then you had not sought any employment and had done nothing but idled at home.  You had no friends and only had interest in staying home idling and playing computer games.

11.  I was told that for one month in May 2012 you had actually sought employment.  After your employment however there were some quarrels you had with your family members and you decided to move out of their home and slept on the streets and committed this very serious offence.

12.  As I found your background rather unusual I called for a number of reports.  Those reports were a background report, a psychological report and two psychiatric reports.  Those reports have enlightened me now as to your background and your character, and I shall not repeat what is stated therein.

13.  What is clear to me from these reports is that you are, first of all, not suffering from any psychiatric disorder.  You may be suffering from a personality disorder and further you are an impulsive and short-sighted person who acts hastily and pays no heed to the consequence of your actions.

14.  You are single.  You lived with your mother and elder brother and younger sister who are aged 58, 28 and 24 respectively. 

15.  It appeared to me that after leaving school, you had no motivation to work and idled at home.  Your family were obviously concerned that you had no motivation and led an abnormal living.  Despite them trying to encourage you to find work, you turned a deaf ear to their encouragement.

16.  After you ceased employment you borrowed some $40,000 from a finance company.  You spent the money on buying a new computer, a mobile phone and video game machine and the remainder on entertainment.  Of course you were unable to repay it.  In those circumstances your family, despite their anger and disappointment, repaid it on your behalf.   

17.  However only about a month later after that debt was repaid, you then went out and borrowed another $10,000.  Your family was again very upset at you they were not prepared to make repayment of this loan for you.  As you were annoyed at their being angry at you, you left the house.

18.  Upon leaving the house, you avoided their telephone calls, did not contact them and eventually you exhausted all your money and had no money to live.  You then became a street-sleeper and for some time stayed overnight at McDonald’s restaurants or stayed in the video game centres at night.  Quite simply, as you had no money, you resorted to this very serious offence of robbery and then went out again considering to contemplating another robbery but changed your mind. 

19.  The psychologist summed up your character very well.  She said that you are a passive, solitary and carefree individual and, as I mentioned earlier, impulsive and short-sighted.  She says that your risk of re-offending is not low unless your lifestyle can be changed. 

20.  Mr Lee today tells me that since you have been in custody for 5 months already, you have had great insight into your lifestyle and realized that that must change.  You propose to learn something whilst you are in prison as you know it will be for a lengthy time, so when you are released, you will be able to have gainful employment. 

21.  Mr Lee has referred me to a number of cases which are the well known case of robbery with weapon which is Mo Kwong Sang and the case of HKSAR v Li Ho Yin CACC240/2012 and HKSAR v Lai Wai Yip DCCC1296/2009, those two cases being in respect of going equipped for stealing.

22.  Defendant, as you know, robbery with a weapon, particularly a knife, is a very serious offence.  The clear tariff for this is laid down in Mo Kwong Sang of a sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment had I convicted you after trial.  You had, however, pleaded guilty and I must give you full credit for your plea of guilty.  In those circumstances, I reduce that sentence to one of 3 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.

23.  For the offence of going equipped for stealing, I have looked at the knife and it is a very long and lethal weapon.  Clearly, from what you said under caution, you were ready to go and rob somebody at the 7-Eleven.  You had only a week earlier committed an almost similar offence to that which you were planning.

24.  There are no guidelines for sentencing for the offence of going equipped for stealing.  The maximum sentence is one of 3 years’ imprisonment.  The courts, however, look at each individual facts of the case including the circumstances in which you were apprehended, the nature of the equipment carried, the nature of your record, and in those circumstances given those facts I considered an appropriate sentence of 18 months had I convicted you after trial.  However, again I give you full credit for your plea of guilty and reduce that term to one of 12 months’ imprisonment. 

25.  I take into account the principle of totality. These two offences are separate and distinct offences.  I consider a partly consecutive, partly concurrent sentence to be appropriate and I order 4 months of Charge 2 of the 12 months to run consecutive to Charge 1, making a total sentence of 3 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.