HKSAR v. NG PAK YANG, KENNETH

DCCC 679/2016

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 679 OF 2016

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  You have pleaded guilty to Charge 1.

2.  The facts are very straightforward.  You and a friend got into the victim’s taxi at 4 am, clearly you had been drinking heavily.  When you arrived home, you had no money.  You offered to pay him the next day.  You offered to take his phone number or give him your phone number to facilitate payment.  You even offered him your ID card, but the victim quite rightly was not having it.  He wanted his fare.  In fact, he is still owed his fare.

3.  You are not a man with a clear record.  You are 30 years old.  Your record: you have four previous convictions, nothing similar.  You have pleaded guilty.  You are willing to pay compensation.  In such case, I will impose a fine and a compensation order.  

4.  But I have to warn you although I do not know whether any of your other convictions were committed whilst under the influence of alcohol but there are obvious dangers to getting so drunk.  Clearly, PW1 yesterday in the witness-box made a big mistake.  Maybe it was due to the passage of time.  He said it was not you.  Judging from your own video-recorded interview, it was likely to have been you having this altercation with him. Whether you intended to rob him or not is another thing.  Whether you were seriously under the influence of alcohol so much so that you could not have formed the intent to rob him is not determined but from what he said, if you had pressed him down and taken his money, that would have been enough to prove a taxi robbery, and a taxi robbery would attract a sentence of 4 to 5 years. 

5.  So you need to be very careful about drinking.  If it is a habitual problem, then you had better get some help but you are very lucky on this occasion.  You have walked away with nothing but Charge 1 attracting a financial penalty and a compensation order, but you have to consider yourself pre-warned that drinking can escalate into big problems.  Unfortunately, night-time, night-shift taxi drivers come across this problem all the time and really it is very unfair to them and they should be protected, which is why sentences for taxi robberies are stiff. 

6.  I impose for Charge 1 a fine of $1,500.  I order compensation to the victim, PW1, also in the sum of $1,500.  That is a total of $3,000.  You have $5,000 in bail.  Can it be deducted from bail?

DEFENDANT: Yes, Madam.

7.  Yes, both fine and compensation from bail.