HKSAR v. Tsoi Leung Chuen

DCCC 45/2021

[2021] HKDC 581

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 45 OF 2021

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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1.The defendant pleads guilty to one charge of burglary of the office of ADM Promotions Hong Kong Limited, a trading company, situated on the 4th Floor of Kaiser Estate Phase 1, Nos. 37-45 Man Yue Street in Hung Hom, contrary to section 11 of the Theft Ordinance[1].

2.Full particulars of the offence are set out in the summary of facts admitted by the defendant today. 

3.In summary at around 6:16 p.m. on 7 August 2020 the last member of staff to leave the office switched on the alarm system and locked the doors and windows.

4.At 4:18 a.m. on 9 August 2020 the manager of the company was informed that the alarm had earlier been activated.  The manager returned to the office and discovered one of the windows of the conference room had been prized open and four laptop computers were missing[2].

5.CCTV of Kaiser Estate Phase 1 captured the defendant at 3:41 a.m. on 9 August 2020 carrying a sling bag and entering the building from the rear entrance and leaving at 4:14 a.m. carrying a recycle bag.

6.The defendant was arrested on 14 August 2020.  On a search of the defendant’s residence in a hotel room the police seized the clothes the defendant was seen wearing on the CCTV footage; the sling bag and the recycle bag.  The police also found three screwdrivers, a pair of pliers and a torch.   

7.Under caution and in a video recorded interview the defendant admitted, inter alia, prizing open a window with one of the screwdrivers found by the police; entering the office at which time the alarm was activated; using the torch to search the office and finding the four laptop computers which he put in the recycle bag and later sold.    

Mitigation

8.In passing sentence, I have carefully considered the oral and written submission of Mr Tommy Ho, including that the defendant, who is 48 and divorced with a daughter aged 16 who lives with her mother, committed the burglary after becoming unemployed in June last year due to the pandemic[3]. 

9.Mr Ho has read to court the defendant’s mitigation letter in which he expresses his remorse and asks for a lenient sentence.  I also take into account that while on remand the defendant has completed the cleaning skill training course organised by The Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention and passed all required assessments as shown in the certificate submitted to court.

Burglary

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

11.The defendant has a long criminal record including six convictions for burglary, the last of which was over twenty years ago, in November 2000.  Since that time the defendant has largely kept out of trouble save for a conviction in 2007 for possession of drugs and convictions for assault, gambling and shoplifting in 2018. 

12.The defendant’s last conviction was on 31 August 2020 when he was sentenced in WKCC 3293/2019 to DATC for an offence of shoplifting.  In the circumstances I do not enhance the starting point by reason of previous offending. 

13.The court papers in WKCC 3293/2019 reveal the defendant committed shoplifting on 26 July 2019 after which he was placed on police bail to appear in court on 9 August 2019.  The defendant however failed to attend court whereupon a warrant for his arrest was issued[4].

14.The warrant was executed just over a year later after the defendant was arrested on 14 August 2020 for the present burglary.  Although the defendant had failed to attend court the commission of the present burglary is still to be regarded as an offence committed on bail.  The commission of offences on bail is an aggravating factor. 

15.I enhance the starting point by 3 months to 2 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.  Giving the defendant full credit for his plea of guilty he is convicted and sentenced to 1 year and 10 months’ imprisonment.