HKSAR v. RONG DAKANG

DCCC 387/2014

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 387 OF 2014

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to deal with the proceeds of an indictable offence. This is an offence variously described as a telephone-deception-type case where phone calls are made to people in Hong Kong and threats are made in relation to their relations unless they part with substantial sums of money. Notwithstanding the publicity which surrounds these cases, they are still very prevalent in Hong Kong.

2.  The facts in this case are that the intended victim, Mr Ng, is 66 years of age and is a retired gentleman.  He lives in Tuen Mun.  He has two sons.  On 24 February, at 3.45 in the afternoon, he was alone at home when he received a phone call on his landline.  Over the telephone, he heard a man shouting, “Dad, I was being beaten and caught.”  He then heard another male voice - I will refer to this person as “the man” - telling the victim that his son had an outstanding debt in Macau of $300,000 and that he had to help his son.

3.  Mr Ng recognised that the first man’s voice did not belong to either of his sons and that he was the intended victim of a scam Mr Ng very commendably kept his wits about him and pretended to negotiate with the man and talked him down to accepting $140,000.  Mr Ng was told to go to the bank to withdraw that sum of money and was told that if he was asked any questions by the staff at the bank, he should say that it was for renovation of his home.

4.  Mr Ng contacted the police and an ambush was arranged for when the money was to be collected.  Further phone calls were made between the man and the victim, and eventually it was arranged that the money should be put into an envelope and dropped off near a lamppost.  Officers kept watch in the vicinity of the lamppost, and the defendant was arrested when he came to collect the envelope.

5.  When arrested, the defendant admitted that his mainlander friend he referred to as Ah Sam asked him to collect the money from an old man who was wearing red outfit and jeans and was carrying a mooncake paper bag, and thereafter he was to remit the money back to the mainland.  The defendant admitted under caution that he was promised a reward of 10 per cent of the money collected. 

6.  Traffic index check confirmed that the defendant entered Hong Kong on 24 February, 10.16 am that day.

7.  The defendant has a clear record.  He is aged 25, was born in China and educated to secondary level.  He had worked as a kitchen worker previously but was unemployed at the time of the commission of the offence.  He claimed that he did not realise the nature of the offence in which he was involved or the amount of money involved.

8.  An application for enhancement of sentence has been made under section 27 of the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance, Cap 455.  In support of that application, a statement was submitted by Detective Chief Inspector Lam Cheuk-ho of the Hong Kong Police Force.  In his statement, the officer opined that the offence with which the defendant is charged is a serious offence within the meaning of the ordinance and that the statistics show that it is a prevalent offence in Hong Kong.

9.  The usual enhancement in cases of this type is 25 per cent. I am invited by counsel representing the defendant to impose enhancement only of 20 per cent.  An authority has been submitted before me, a District Court case, 105 of 2014 where such an enhancement was made.  I also note that the starting point in that case is far below the usual starting point for offences of this kind.  These cases come before the court on a regular basis, and there are numerous cases dealing with sentencing on these matters. The starting point varies between 3 and 5 years.  One of the criteria applied is whether or not the defendant is aware of the predicate offence.  In some cases, the money is collected from a location and there is no indication as to how the money arrived there or who deposited the money at that particular location. 

10.  This, however, is not one of those cases.  An aggravating feature of this case is the age of the victim.  He is 66 years of age, and the people involved in this conspiracy had tried to frighten him.  Somebody took the role of his son and claimed to be beaten up and caught, actions calculated to cause great stress and anxiety.  Fortunately, in this case, Mr Ng, the intended victim, was aware that it was not his son that was being beaten up and caught, and he had the presence of mind to call the police.  Mr Ng is to be commended for his actions.

11.  As regards the defendant, there is no doubt that he was aware that the person who was handing over the money was an older person.  He admits that his mainlander friend, Ah Sam, asked him to collect the money from an old man who was wearing a red outfit and jeans and was carrying a mooncake paper bag.  

12.  I do not accept the defendant’s assertion that he was unaware of the predicate offence.  He had come to Hong Kong to collect money from this person and was going to get 10 per cent of what was handed over.  The amount handed over was substantial.  It was $140,000.   

13.  I propose in this case to take a starting point of 3 and a half years.  I accept that when the defendant was arrested, he immediately co-operated with the police and has pleaded guilty today, and the defendant will therefore be given credit for his guilty plea and that the starting point will be reduced to 28 months’ imprisonment. 

14.  I agree to the prosecution application for enhancement of sentence.  I am satisfied that all the criteria have been satisfied under the ordinance, and in this case, I see no reason to depart from the usual enhancement of 25 per cent.  The sentence will therefore be increased by 7 months, and the total period of imprisonment will be 35 months.