HKSAR v. Cheung King
Read the full judgment text of DCCC 1003/2015 on BabelCite. This District Court judgment.
1. The Defendant pleads guilty to wounding with intent, contrary to section 17(a) of the Offences against the Person Ordinance.
Cites 8 cases
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DCCC 1003/2015 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1003 OF 2015 -----------------------------------
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---------------------------- Reasons for Sentence ---------------------------- Charge and facts 1.The Defendant pleads guilty to wounding with intent, contrary to section 17(a) of the Offences against the Person Ordinance. 2.The Defendant, aged 75, is the father of the Victim, aged 47. In the course of cohabitation between the Defendant and Madam Pang, the Victim and his older brother were born. After separation from Madam Pang, the Defendant married Madam Wong, who bore him a daughter, now aged 8. 3.In 1980, the Defendant had started the business of Chung Hing Hong selling kerosene and LP Gas in Kwu Tung, New Territories. The license was held in the name of Madam Pang. The business expanded to cover the supply of petrol to construction works and acquired a few dangerous goods vehicles including oil tank vehicles for the delivery. 4.In 1999, the Defendant brought the Victim into the business. In 2003, the Victim began to manage the business to the exclusion of the Defendant. In return for such favour, the Victim had promised to pay the Defendant’s monthly living expenses and telephone bills. In 2014, the Victim asked to have 50% of the proprietary interest assigned to Madam Pang. The Defendant refused. The Victim stopped paying the Defendant’s living expenses. 5.In July 2015, the Defendant learned that the licence of a vehicle in the business had been surrendered to the Transport Department for an ex-gratia payment of $131,000 under a scheme of the Transport Department. There was a quarrel which resulted in the Defendant’s cancellation of the joint bank account held with the Victim so that the cheque could not be deposited. On the day before the offence, the Victim retaliated by cancelling the Defendant’s telephone number, which the Defendant had used for over 20 years. It led to the loss of contact between the Defendant and Madam Wong, who happened to be on a trip with their daughter. 6.On the next day, 4 August 2015, the Defendant confronted the Victim in the office. The Victim refused to budge and insulted the Defendant by foul languages. The Defendant lost his head and randomly picked up a pair of scissors to attack the Victim in quick succession. He stopped when he realized that the Victim was bleeding. An employee entered to separate them. The Defendant asked the employee to call the police. He stayed on and admitted the offence to the police under caution. The course of the attack was captured by the CCTV in the office. 7.The Victim suffered from 2 deep lacerations on his left face, 2 lacerations, one deep and the other superficial, on the left side of his neck, and multiple minor lacerations on his right hand. Despite the passage of time and the therapy, the top joint of his right middle finger has remained stiff and weak to a small extent. The prognosis is that this condition will be permanent. Mitigation 8.The Defendant has a clear record. His bundle of mitigation letters indicate that he has been a pleasant and generous person well liked by his family and village community. He was the treasurer of the village committee from 1995 to 1999. 9.He anticipates that the relationship with the Victim can hardly be mended by any good measures but the financial side can be addressed with the Victim in a practical manner by mediation monitored by village heads. He is all prepared to see to a settlement to avoid future confrontations. Sentencing considerations 10.There are no sentencing guidelines for wounding with intent. Mr. Chong in mitigation has put forward 8 cases in a bundle for my reference. 11.In HKSAR v Chan Chun Tat CACC 317/2012 (Tab 3 in the Bundle), the defendant and the victim were a couple on the verge of a broken relationship because of the defendant’s drug addiction. In a talk over divorce or reconciliation, the defendant was significantly influenced by ketamine so that he tried, in sequence, to strangle her, stab her with a screwdriver, and then cut her with a breadknife. Between each round of attack spanned over some time, he had tried to calm down but failed, only to renew another round with a fresh mode. Out of despair, he tried to commit suicide in repentance. The Court of Appeal regarded that the unusual relationship between the couple as much as the degree of drug influence on the defendant had to be given full consideration and due weight. The starting point was reduced from 12 years to 8 years on appeal. 12.What is important about this case is that there the Court of Appeal has given a non-exhaustive list of factors usually relevant to the sentence as follows (at para. 49) for which I supply the numbering:
13.The other cases in the Bundle are relevant as comparisons in sentence. In HKSAR v Yuen Wai Kui CACC 280/2004 (Tab 1 in the Bundle), the defendant attacked his employer failed to come to terms in a meeting over outstanding wages at a restaurant. The victim followed the defendant and struck the first blow. The defendant reacted violently far beyond self-control and incurred possibly fatal head injuries on the victim. The victim survived but was likely to remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. A starting point of 12 years was reduced to 7 ½ years on appeal. 14.In HKSAR v Wong Luk Sau [2013] 2 HKLRD 201 (Tab 2 in the Bundle), the defendant, aged 72, and the victim, aged 78, lived in the same housing estate and would watch people play chess in the park. They had a quarrel over a chess game. Three days later, the defendant approached the victim in the park and asked for compensation arising from the quarrel. An argument ensued and the defendant attacked the victim with a knife he had brought along. The victim suffered some injuries but not serious ones. There was an element of premeditation in having a knife brought along to square a quarrel three days old. The starting point or mitigating factors were not expressly computed but the conclusion was such that taking into account the facts, the defendant’s old age, medical condition after a heart operation, and light record (once for illegal gambling), the sentence of 3 years after trial was reduced to 2 years and 3 months on appeal. 15.In HKSAR v Chu Sze Wing CACC 289/2011 (Tab 4 in the Bundle), the defendant and the victim were occupants of wooden cubicles in an overcrowded flat. There was bad blood between them over domestic trivialities. A row over the victim’s noise led to his attack by a chopper. He was discharged from the hospital on the same day after treatment of his head and face injuries. There was no premeditation. The starting point was reduced from 5 years to 4 years on appeal. 16.In HKSAR v Chow Kwok Wing DCCC 787/2015 (Tab 5 in the Bundle), the defendant and the victim were colleagues. While going out and getting quite drunk together, the victim punched the defendant. It only took 5 minutes for the defendant to go home to fetch 2 choppers to return to chop the victim. The victim sustained cuts to his fingers, which had not fully recovered at the time of sentence. The judge took a starting point of 3 years and 6 months. 17.In HKSAR v Lam Wing On (transliteration) DCCC 1026/2014 (Tab 6 in the Bundle), the defendant and the victim were strangers to each other. They had a quarrel on the street. The defendant drew out a knife from his bag to attack the victim. The victim was hospitalized for 3 days to be treated the injuries over his arms and fingers. His left ring finger was likely to remain stiff permanently. The defendant was a habitual drinker and was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offence. The judge took a starting point of 3 years. 18.In HKSAR v Lam Chak Cheong (transliteration) DCCC 717/2015 (Tab 7 in the Bundle), the defendant and the victim sometimes played cards together in a park since 2 years ago. On the night in question, the defendant was drunk and they had a quarrel when playing cards in the park. The defendant happened to have with him 2 triangular metal files. He first threw one at the victim, who dodged it and discarded it. He stabbed the victim’s back near the kidney with another one. The victim was discharged after medical treatment for 12 days. The judge took a starting point of 3 years. 19.In HKSAR v Wong Kai Wai (transliteration) DCCC 651/2015 (Tab 8 in the Bundle), the defendant and the victim had known each other for 30 years. They later came to share a small flat. They had quarrels over domestic affairs and expenses. The offence sparked off from one of such kind. The defendant attacked the victim with a knife, injuring the victim’s hand, to be made good after 6 stitches initially and another 10 stitches or so afterwards, in the hospital. His left thumb lost flexibility and required to be steadied by a frame. The injury rendered him unfit for his work as a renovation worker for a few months until it fully healed. The defendant was aged 72 and only had a binding-over for theft 43 years ago. The judge took a starting point of 30 months. Sentencing this Defendant 20.Echoing the factors outlined in Chan Chun Tat (above), this case is at the lower end of the scale. There was no premeditation in the attack. The Victim had failed to honour his promise to pay the Defendant’s living expenses and telephone bills although the Defendant let him run the business in return for such promise. He did not inform the Defendant of the surrender of the licence of a vehicle and the receipt of $131,000 from the Transport Department. His attitude in the office was antagonistic. These affairs and his manners together had so flared up the Defendant that the Defendant picked up the scissors at random to attack him. The Defendant stopped after seeing the bloodshed and asked to call the police. Frank admissions were made to the police when they arrived. The injuries were not serious despite the fact that the ring finger was likely to remain stiff and weak to a small extent permanently. That should not affect the Victim as a manager of the business. The Defendant is all prepared to settle the financial issues with the Victim by mediation monitored by village heads in future. 21.I take a starting point of 2 years. I reduce it by one-third because of the plea of guilty. I further reduce it by 4 months to take into account the appalling misery he has come to as a first offender to serve a prison term at the age of 75. The sentence is 12 months.
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Cases cited in this judgment