HKSAR v. Lee Yun Kin, Thomas

HCCC 455/2015

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 455 OF 2015

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:

Thomas Lee, this case and the question of your sentence has caused me a great deal of concern and reflection. You have pleaded guilty to committing a very serious and a very wicked act. I have it very much in the forefront of my mind that it was an act committed against a woman who was, for some reason, semi-conscious.

I now have before me a psychologist’s report in relation to that young lady which tells me that, in the psychologist’s opinion, she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, and that is related to what you did to her. And if, when I adjourned this case in order that the Community Service Order report could be obtained in respect of you, I said anything that indicated that she was not, I was in error and I must apologise to the lady for saying it.

Having said that, there are many positive things in your favour. You admitted to the offence and thereby you saved this young lady the distress of giving evidence in court.

You, unlike most men, and indeed women, who appear before me in these courts, are a man of good character. I do not mean that in the sense of not having previous convictions; I mean it in the sense of not being a person who is, quite frankly, a worthless individual. You are an individual of some worth.

From what Mr Adams told me on 21 September and from what I see in the Community Service Order report, you are a hard-working man and always have been a hard-working man. You have a reasonably well-paid job and you have always been in employment. When dismissed from your previous employment recently because of your offence, you did not sit around moping about it, you went out and found another job very quickly.

You appear to have a supportive family. You have a demonstrated concern for others. I have enough information before me to be satisfied that you have been and still are actively involved in animal welfare, particularly the welfare of cats, and also that you are concerned and have been concerned in activities for the benefit of the elderly in our community in Hong Kong.

I am satisfied that you are a skilled sportsman who has represented Hong Kong in international competitions. In saying that, I accept that darts is now a recognised sporting activity. You also appear to have an entrepreneurial spirit which can be seen by the fact you set up this darts club where your offence took place.

I have given long and serious consideration - and I mean that, long and serious consideration - as to whether or not I should send you to prison for your offence. In dealing with that in my mind, I have had to take into account the fact that there is a very strong possibility that if you were in prison for this offence, it would break your spirit, it would destroy or damage all the positive aspects of your character and that, on discharge from prison, you would be unable to obtain employment and become a drain on society.

The Probation Service consider that you are a suitable candidate for a Community Service Order and that indeed is the order that your counsel, Mr Adams, urged I should make when he mitigated on your behalf on 21 September. The Court of Appeal have repeatedly said that Community Service Orders are not soft options and it is accepted that they are viable alternatives to sentences of imprisonment.

After a great deal of reflection, I have decided that you should be the subject of a Community Service Order. I decided that you will serve it and that you should serve it for the maximum period the law provides for, which is 240 hours. Any less period would not reflect the gravity of your offence, in my opinion.

The law requires that you consent to such an order. Do you in fact consent?

ACCUSED:

I consent, my Lord.

COURT:

Very well, then I am ordering that you serve 240 hours community service under the supervision of the Probation Service and that you are required to report to the probation officer on Friday of this week at 11.30 am in their offices in Wan Chai Tower in Harbour Road, Wan Chai North, Hong Kong.

Your solicitors will give you further details as to what you have to do.

I strongly hope, Thomas Lee, that I do not see you again, or that any of my colleagues in the judiciary see you again.