COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of going equipped for stealing, which is contrary to section 27(1) of the Theft Ordinance, Cap 210. The particulars were that on 2 August 2021, in a street in Hung Hom, had with him a cutter for use in the course or in the connection with theft, and, to this charge, the defendant had pleaded guilty on the first day of trial.
The reason this offence is being sentenced in the Court of First Instance is because he was also at the same time facing a trial for two other counts, for robbery and wounding with intent, which offences were alleged to have taken place in June 2021, and for those two charges he had been acquitted by the jury, and that is why I am sentencing the defendant for this offence of going equipped today.
The defendant is aged 53 and has previous convictions: in 2015 for burglary in the District Court, where he was sent to prison for 18 months, and then in 2019 he was sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment for a robbery in the High Court. And, having served his sentence on that charge, he was released on 20 February 2021 and then, shortly after, on 2 August, he was stopped in the street in the early hours of the morning in possession of this cutter.
The defendant, upon the police stopping him, was searched and a cutter was found in his pocket, and he said to the police that he was going to use the cutter in order to commit a robbery. It is very serious because cutters can cause great harm to a victim. Also, in the early hours of the morning, Hong Kong residents or citizens going about their normal activities are entitled to be protected from being robbed on the street.
So it is very serious and, taking into account the fact that the defendant had previously been convicted under the Theft Ordinance and released shortly before he was arrested for this offence, having taken all this into consideration, I am inclined to adopt a starting point of 30 months.
As Mr Kuan correctly pointed out, of course there is no sentencing guideline in relation to an offence of this nature. Each case has to turn on its own facts, and the facts here are serious, are very serious. He was caught in the early hours of the morning and he had the cutter with him and he was ready to commit an offence with that cutter.
However, the defendant did plead guilty on the first day of trial and he is entitled to have a 20 per cent discount.
So I will sentence the defendant to 24 months’ imprisonment. That is 2 years, and I can only say that hopefully at the age of 53 the defendant can now turn over a new leaf and his boss, Mr Lam, I am told, has very kindly also suggested that he is willing to employ him. So perhaps this is a last chance that the defendant can take and lead a constructive life from now on.
All right, thank you.