HKSAR v. YU CHEUK FUNG

DCCC994/2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 994 OF 2011

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a single charge of attempted burglary, contrary to section 11(1)(a) and (4) of the Theft Ordinance, Cap.210, Laws of Hong Kong and section 159(G) of the Crimes Ordinance, the particulars being that you on 2 August of this year attempted to burgle premises at Room D, Flat B, 5th Floor, Lung Cheung Building in Waterloo Road, Kowloon City.

2.  The facts which you have admitted are quite straightforward and establish that at about half-past 12 in the afternoon of 2 August of this year an alert retailer saw you climb up the scaffolding which was surrounding Lung Cheung Building.  He called the police, who subsequently arrived, by which time you were climbing down the scaffolding. 

3.  When you were subsequently interviewed by the police, you told them under caution that you had climbed up the scaffolding to check whether anyone was in the unit as you intended to steal.   You broke the window of the premises in question as you intended to steal but did not continue your action of actually entering the premises.

4.  You are 37 years of age and have a poor criminal record, which includes two prior convictions for burglary quite some time ago now in 1998.  Your last conviction was in 2010 for theft when you received a sentence of one month imprisonment suspended for 2 years.  Of course, by committing the present offence, you are in breach of that suspended sentence. 

5.  I do accept from your counsel that there are no aggravating features in this case at all.  You did not enter the premises and clearly nothing was stolen from the premises.

6.  The normal starting point for burglaries of domestic premises is one of 3 years’ imprisonment and this of course includes attempted burglaries of domestic premises. 

7.  Accordingly, I adopt 3 years’ imprisonment as my starting point and I will give you the full discount of one-third to reflect your plea of guilty, coming to 2 years’ imprisonment.  

8.  As you are in breach of the suspended sentence imposed on you in April 2010, I activate that sentence of one month and order it to run consecutively to the term of 2 years’ imprisonment, arriving at a sentence of 2 years 1 month imprisonment in all.