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DCCC153/2011
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONGSPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 153 OF 2011
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Date: |
9 May 2011 at 10.17 am |
Present: |
Ms Catherine Ko, SPP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Ms Vera Lam, of Messrs Tang Tso & Lau, for the Defendant |
Offence: |
Burglary (入屋犯法罪) |
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Reasons for Sentence
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1. The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary.
2. The offence was committed on 27 June in 2010 when he entered a school called the Ho Yu College in Kin Tung Road, Tung Chung, Lantau Island, with intent to steal.
3. On 27 June 2010 at about 9.30 p.m. a caretaker employed by the school saw through the CCTV cameras in the control room the defendant walking in the corridor of the 1st Floor of the main building of the premises. The security guard went to the location and found the defendant trying to open the door of Room 109 which was a multi-media room. The guard reported the matter to the police and the police officers arrived and intercepted the defendant.
4. The defendant was arrested and under caution he admitted that he entered the premises with intent to steal a computer. In a subsequent video recorded interview he admitted that around 9 o’clock that night he climbed over the outer wall of the school to gain access. He said that he went to the 1st Floor intending to steal a computer from one of the rooms on that floor.
5. He also said to the police that he placed two of his house keys on the corridor of the 1st Floor so that if he was arrested by the police he could claim that he entered the premises to look for those keys. The keys were recovered by the police.
6. The defendant was a former student of the college. He is 23 years of age and has a clear record. He was educated to Form 5 standard. I am told that he is single and he lives with his mother and father and two elder sisters, a younger brother and a younger sister. All the siblings are in employment.
7. The defendant was formerly employed as a fast food casual worker until 2008 when he became unemployed.
8. It was urged upon me in mitigation that the defendant not only does he have a clear record, in the offence itself no violence was used and there was no vandalism.
9. Placed before the court has been a letter from the defendant and also from his sister. They confirm that the defendant is remorseful about his involvement in this matter and hope that he will improve with medical treatment for his illness.
10. Before the court there are two psychiatric reports dealing with the defendant’s history of mental illness. Apparently, he became known to the psychiatric service in mid 2009 when he was admitted to Kwai Chung Hospital because of aggressive behaviour towards his mother. He had been socially withdrawn for a year prior to his admission and presented with a persecutory delusion of being monitored and unexplained irritability. He was diagnosed to be suffering from psychosis and treated with anti-psychotic drugs.
11. He was discharged in September 2009 and continued with psychiatric follow-up at the outpatient clinic but defaulted follow-up treatment after being seen on 28 September 2009. He next returned to the hospital in July 2010 and was noticed to have florid symptoms of psychotic relapse. He was suffering from auditory hallucination of both male and female non-existing voices and there had been senseless pacing about his home for a week. He was re-admitted for further treatment.
12. With regard to the offence, he told the psychiatrist that he admitted committing the offence. He denied that he was under the influence of psychiatric symptoms at the time of the act and he just wanted to steal a computer in order to play computer games.
13. I have considered very carefully everything that has been said about the defendant and I have considered the contents of the reports. The usual starting point for an offence of burglary on non-domestic premises is a sentence of 2 years and 6 months.
14. Having considered the background of the defendant and having considered his age, I propose to take a starting point of 2 years for this offence and reduce it by one-third to reflect the defendant’s guilty plea. The defendant will go to prison for 16 months.
15. The psychiatric reports which have been prepared will be forwarded to the Commissioner of Correctional Services so that he receives the appropriate treatment while he is in custody.
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