|
HCCC10/2009
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 10 OF 2009
----------------------
HKSAR
v
SINGH, TERSEM
----------------------
|
Date:
|
16 June 2009 at 2.46 pm
|
|
Present:
|
Ms Vinci Lam, SPP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Laurence James Poots, instructed by M C A Lai & Co, for the Accused
|
|
Offence:
|
(1) Rape (強姦)
(2) Theft (偷竊)
|
------------------------------------------------------
Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
----------------------------------------------------
COURT: Defendant, you have been convicted by the jury of both of these charges, which arose by you enticing the complainant, a friend of yours, to your flat. Your motive for inviting her there was, I have no doubt, for the purpose of having sexual intercourse with her, something which you knew she was certainly not going to agree to.
There came a time when the complainant wanted to leave. You persuaded her to stay, which, against her better judgment, she eventually agreed to. When there came a time when the complainant was tired, due to a combination of the lateness of the hour and the beer that she had consumed, you took advantage of her vulnerability and forced yourself upon her, despite the complainant’s protests.
Having raped her, you then added insult to injury by stealing $600 from her wallet, which she had originally placed in her handbag.
The distress that your actions caused to this unfortunate lady in the early hours of that morning were only too obvious to see while she was recounting the details in the witness-box.
On the 1st count of rape, I adopt as my starting point a sentence of 5 years' imprisonment. I will increase that starting point by a period of 12 months to take account of the fact that there is no evidence that a condom was used by yourself, and you betrayed the trust put in you by the complainant, a lady who was a friend of yours; arriving at a sentence of 6 years' imprisonment on Count 1.
On Count 2, it has not escaped my attention that you have a poor criminal record with regard to theft. You have indeed five previous convictions for theft, and have been sent to prison on a number of occasions: 6 months’ imprisonment; and I believe on the last occasion, you were sentenced to 4 months’ imprisonment.
Although only some $600 was stolen from the complainant, I find that the most lenient sentence that I can impose in relation to this charge is one of 6 months' imprisonment, which, as it is a completely separate and distinct offence from the rape charge, should properly be ordered to run consecutively to the sentence of 6 years’ imprisonment.
I so order it to run consecutively, arriving at a total sentence of 6½ years' imprisonment in all.
Defendant's application in respect of his convictions allowed by Court of Appeal. A retrial of both court on the indictment ordered. Please refer to CACC216/2009 dated 11 April 2011 |