HKSAR v WONG YIN TING

DCCC 944/2016

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 944 OF 2016

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

1.  Wong Yin Ting you have pleaded guilty to one charge of burglary and one charge of attempted burglary of business premises, contrary to section 11 of the Theft Ordinance[1] and section 159G of the Crimes Ordinance.[2]

2.  Full particulars of the offences are set out in the facts admitted by you today.  In summary you committed both offences in the early hours of 29 August last year.

Charge 1

3.  Charge 1 concerns the business premises of Centaline Property Agency Limited at No.1 Palm Springs Boulevard in Yuen Long.  The office of Centaline was a converted cargo container.  On the night of 28 August the office was locked.  The next morning prize marks were found on the window frames and signs of ransacking of the office.  No property was however found stolen.

4.  Photographs of the premises have been submitted to the court.  CCTV was viewed and showed that between 1:07 and 1:30 a.m. you were wandering inside the office holding a pair of scissors.  Photograph 25 shows the scissors, which may be better described as garden shears or garden clippers. 

Charge 2

5.  Charge 2 concerns the Sang Choi Kee Sandmill in Yuen Long.  Shortly after committing the first burglary the police saw you jumping off the top of a wall of the sandmill, which was next to the only entrance to the sandmill.      

6.  Photographs of the sandmill have also been submitted to the court.  Miss Tam has explained that you jumped from the roof of the shop seen in photograph 36.  By accessing the roof of the shop one can then jump into the yard of the sandmill, the entrance of which is best shown in photographs 36, 39 and 44.

7.  After you jumped down you left on a bicycle.  The police intercepted you for enquiry and arrested you.  In a subsequent video interview, you admitted you were the person seen on the CCTV committing the first burglary and that you had used the scissors to prize open the window. 

Mitigation

8.  In passing sentence, I have carefully considered everything said on your behalf by Mr Wong.  I am told you acted out of greediness without any prior plan to commit burglary.  In court you explained that you found the scissors at the premises.  I am prepared to accept you did not go equipped with the scissors.  I also take into account that nothing was stolen in either of the burglaries.

Starting point

9.  The correct starting point for a single burglary of non-domestic premises committed by a first offender of full age where there are no aggravating or mitigating features is 2 years and 6 months imprisonment.

10.  You have appeared in court on 8 previous occasions accumulating a total of 14 convictions, 8 of which are for burglary.  Most of the burglaries were committed in 2003 and 2004.  You then stayed out of trouble for nearly 10 years when you were again convicted of burglary and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on 8 June 2015. 

11.  As you only have one conviction in the last 10 years I do not increase your sentence by reason of persistent offending.  Giving you full credit for your pleas of guilty reduces the sentence on each charge to 1 year and 8 months imprisonment.

Totality

12.  Although committed on the same day the burglaries are of two separate premises in different parts of Yuen Long.  Consecutive sentences are appropriate subject to the totality principle. 

13.  Taking into account all the circumstances of the two burglaries, I am satisfied that a total sentence of 2 years and 4 months imprisonment is appropriate.

Sentence

14.  You are convicted and sentenced as follows:

Charge 1 – 1 year and 8 months imprisonment; and

Charge 2 – 1 year and 8 months imprisonment with 8 months consecutive and 12 months concurrent to charge 1.

15.  The total sentence to be served by you is 2 years and 4 months imprisonment, which I am satisfied properly reflects your criminality on the two charges.