HKSAR v. TSANG KWOK HUNG

DCCC 402/2013

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 402 OF 2013

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  The defendant pleaded guilty to two offences, one of using a false instrument, namely, a forged credit card, and a further charge of possessing a false instrument in relation to two other credit cards.

2.  The facts admitted are that at 5.15 pm on 25 February 2013, he entered a shop, the Okashi Land Shop which is at Nam Cheong MTR Station in Kowloon.  He attempted to buy a total of 40 cash coupons, total value, $2,000.  He presented a Citibank Visa Card in the name of Tong Siu-shan for payment.  The card was rejected and he presented a second Visa Card, this time a Washington Mutual Visa Card again in the name of Tong Siu-shan which was again rejected. 

3.  The defendant was then invited to pay in cash and he said that he would have to go to an ATM to get some cash.  However, he ran away hastily and entered the paid area of the MTR station via the turnstile.  The shop assistant was suspicious and alerted a patrolling officer.

4.  The defendant was arrested and recovered from was not only the two cards which he had attempted to use in the Okashi Shop but also two other cards which are the subject of the 2nd charge.  The defendant claimed that he had picked up all four credit cards from a trash can near the Precious Blood Hospital in Sham Shui Po.

5.  It was confirmed that all four cards were forged.

6.  The defendant has a clear record.  He is 23 years of age and he was born on the mainland, coming to Hong Kong in 1996 at the age of 6.  He was educated in Hong Kong to Form 3 standard.  He is single and lives with his mother and younger brother in Wong Tai Sin.

7.  I am told that when he first came to Hong Kong, he was living with his father, and that his mother came to Hong Kong only in 2006 when he was 16 years of age.  His father had gambling problems.  And I am told the relationship at home between the father and mother was not harmonious.  In fact, the parents divorced in 2007.  That was just a year after the mother arrived in Hong Kong and after she had been badly assaulted by her husband who was prosecuted for that assault. 

8.  The defendant after leaving school worked in a hairstyle shop for two years and then worked in various restaurants, and although he was out of work at the time of his arrest, he was working as a part-time bartender and has always contributed to the family finances.  The defendant has a younger brother who has come to court today together with the mother.  The younger brother, I am told, is at the University of Science and Technology, studying engineering.

9.  The main features of mitigation in this case are that the defendant has a clear record, he was co-operative at the time of his arrest and has pleaded guilty to the offence today.  It was also pointed out that the venue for the attempted obtaining for the use of the credit cards was not a luxury brand shop as is so common in cases of this kind but a shop which sold chocolates and peanuts and such things.  There was no question of this being a syndicated offence or that there is any international dimension.  It is a small-scale use of forged credit cards.

10.  It was also pointed out that the defendant at the time of the commission of the offences had with him genuine identification documents.  He did not try to make use of any false identification.  As far as offences of this kind go, this was very much at the lower end of the scale. 

11.  However, clearly, it is a serious offence in that it involves the abuse of the credit card system and, inevitably, a custodial sentence has to be imposed.  The true significance of these offences is that not only is it an abuse of the system but there is a great potential for great loss.

12.  As part of the mitigation, a number of letters have been placed before the court from the defendant, his mother, his younger brother, from the executive of a church and from the pastor of a church.  It is clear from these letters that the defendant is held in high regard by all these people and this offence is out of character.

13.  I also take into account that in many cases of this kind, the facts usually disclose that the defendant was given the credit card, a forged credit card, to use.  In this case, he found the credit cards and then gave in to temptation.

14.  Taking into account the particular circumstances of this case and the mitigating features that have been placed before me, I take the view that a starting point of 2 years is appropriate in respect of each offence and that the defendant should be entitled to those sentences to be reduced by one-third because of his guilty plea.  The defendant will therefore go to prison for 16 months.