HKSAR v. CHUI CHI WAI

DCCC 51/2021

[2021] HKDC 876

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 51 OF 2021

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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1.  Mr Chui pleaded guilty before me to one charge of Burglary, contrary to section 11(1)(b)  and (4)  of the Theft Ordinance, Cap 210. Particulars are that he, on 29 October 2020, in Hong Kong, having entered as a trespasser part of a building known as “CARS COMPANY”, Ground Floor, No 38 Wong Chuk Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, stole therein some frozen meat, 4 cartons of milk, one bag containing cash of $900 Hong Kong currency and some tools, one can of milk powder and one bag of work clothes.

Summary of the facts admitted by Mr Chui

2.  On 29 October 2020, at about 7.35 am which was a time when the subject garage was outside business hours, Mr Chui put down the plastic chain blocking entrance and entered the garage.  He took away several packets of frozen meat, 4 cartons of milk, a can of milk powder, and two bags.

3.  The owner reported the loss of some frozen meat (worth $3,100), 4 cartons of milk (worth $150), a bag containing cash of $900 and some tools (worth $6,000)  and a bag of work clothes (worth $200).

4.  Mr Chui was intercepted on 5 November 2020.  Under caution, he admitted he stole from the garage frozen meat, milk and a bag containing cash and some tools; that he had consumed the food, spent the money and thrown away the tools.

Criminal record

5.  Mr Chui has 49 previous convictions 37 of which were related to Theft Ordinance offences.

Antecedents

6.  Mr Chui is 41 (40 at the time of the offence), educated to F3 level, unemployed at the time of arrest, homeless.  He was last released from prison end of August 2020.

Mitigation

7.  Mr Johnny So of counsel assigned by the Director of Legal Aid mitigated on behalf of Mr Chui.

8.  The following is a summary of the mitigation submissions.

9.  Mr Chui was homeless although he has parents and siblings.  Previously, Mr Chui had taken odd job as construction worker, kitchen worker and truck delivery worker earning unstable income of about $500 to $600 daily.  Due to heart problem diagnosed in 2012, he could not take up job requiring physical labour.  He had difficulty finding a stable job.

10.  Mr Chui received disability allowance and CSSA of around $7,500 monthly from SWD.

11.  It is acknowledged that Mr Chui is a repeated offender.

12.  The burglary was not premeditated and was opportunistic – Mr Chui passed by the garage while he was doing exercise in the streets at 7.30 am and saw only a chain across the entrance with no lock; so he went in to steal out of momentary greed.  The value of stolen items was not too high.

13.  Mr Chui pleads guilty and urges the court to give him the usual 1/3 discount.

Sentence

14.  I have considered the mitigation submissions and the authorities referred to in the written submissions.

15.  I note that the usual starting point of sentence in a case of burglary of non-domestic premises is 2½ years’ imprisonment but this is subject to aggravating and mitigating features.

16.  There is an element of opportunism in the burglary.  However, this mitigating feature is more than offset by the awful previous records of Mr Chui including the fact that the burglary was committed a mere 2 months after his last release from prison.  Clearly, he has not learnt any lesson from his previous punishment.  Besides, the total value of the lost property came to about $10,350 which could not be said to be a small sum.

17.  Taking these matters into consideration, I will adopt a starting point of 27 months’ imprisonment and I will give Mr Chui the usual 1/3 discount on his plea.  There is no other mitigating feature to justify any further discount.

(Mr Chui, please stand)

18.  The sentence for Mr Chui is therefore 18 months’ imprisonment.