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DCCC1074/2010
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1074 OF 2010
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HKSAR |
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v. |
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Rana Bharatmani |
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| Before: |
H H Judge Longley |
| Date: |
15 December 2010 at 9.58 am |
| Present: |
Mr Robert Andrews, Counsel on fiat, for HKSAR
Mr Bok Tin-yuen, instructed by Eric Yu & Co., assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Defendant |
| Offence: |
Burglary (入屋犯法罪) |
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Reasons for Sentence
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1. You have been convicted on your own plea of one charge of burglary. The burglary took place sometime between 2 am and 6.30 am on the morning of 7 July this year at the business premises of a scrap-dealing company known as Singh 2 Company in Swatow Street in Wanchai. One of the proprietors of the company had left $20,000 in a drawer in a metal cabinet in the premises. Between the time he locked up the premises at 2 am and the time he returned at 6.30 am, somebody had pushed the air-conditioner back into the premises in order to gain entry and had stolen the money.
2. Over a month later, you visited the premises in order to sell some scrap wire. The proprietor questioned you about the burglary and you eventually admitted that you had stolen the money. You asked him not to report the matter to the police and you would repay the money.
3. It appears that that is not a promise that you have honoured. You were later questioned by the police and you claimed that you were only the lookout for the burglary. You claimed that another man, a Pakistani, had asked you to be the lookout while he entered the premises, and you also claimed that he had only given you $1,000.
4. As I am sure Mr Bok will have told you, the normal starting point for a first offender who commits a burglary in non-domestic premises is 2 and a half years’ imprisonment. You, however, are not a first offender. You came before the courts in November 2008 for two offences of dishonesty. Nonetheless, in the circumstances, I propose to adopt a starting point of 2 and a half years’ imprisonment. The only real mitigation in this case, which has resulted in the victim losing $20,000, is your plea of guilty. For that, you are entitled to the usual discount of one-third.
5. I accordingly sentence you to 20 months' imprisonment.
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P.K.M. Longley |
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District Court Judge |
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