HKSAR v. Lau Suk Yee, Rowena

DCCC 910/2009

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 910 OF 2009

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Reasons for Sentence

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Charge and facts

1.The Defendant pleads guilty to theft of HK$8,327,588.83, the property of her employer, LO Kam-chun trading as Kai Tat Metal Factory between 15 February 2006 and 30 April 2009. 

2.She had been working as the accounting clerk for the employer for more than 20 years.  She was responsible for keeping the books and accounts.  She would also prepare cheques for her employer to sign.  He would also sign on blank cheques. 

3.As her working performance deteriorated, he decided to employ another clerk to replace her.  He thus asked another employee to audit the accounting records.    It was discovered that 38 transactions for the year 2008 were problematic.  There was a discrepancy of about HK$3.8 million.  It was suspected that she had presented for the employer’s signing some cheques with only the first three to four digits written.  After he had signed them, she would add further digits in front of such three to four digits.  The inflated amount would be split between payment to the genuine payees and her own account.  Sometimes, when the employer signed on blank cheques, she would fill in her own name as the payee and deposit them into her own account. 

4.A check of the accounts of other years revealed that between 2006 and May 2009, a total of 85 transactions were done in that manner.  The employer had lost HK$8,327,588.83.

5.After arrest and caution she said that she had stolen the money out of greed and had already lost all of it. 

Mitigation put forward

6.The Defendant is now 53 years of age.  She has a clear record.  Her husband and her two children are in court today.  In 1987, she completed F.5 in Macau.  She then came to Hong Kong to work as an account clerk.  In 1988 she began to work for the employer.  The major part of the stolen money was lost to her partnership business of a restaurant in Guangzhou since early 2006.  She also suffered loss in the stock and property market.  The last part was spent on luxury goods.   In August 2009, she petitioned for bankruptcy.   

7.She has a proven history of regular voluntary community service from 1995 to 2009.  

Sentencing for breach of trust

8.In HKSAR v Cheung Mee Kiu CACC 99/2006, the Court of Appeal laid down sentencing guidelines for theft involving breach of trust as follows: 

(a)	over $15 million,	10 years or more;
(b)	$3 million to $15 million,	5 to 9 years;
(c)	$1 million to $ 3 million,	3 to 4 years;
(d)	$250,000 to $1 million,	2 to 3 years;
(e)	less than $250,000,	less than 2 years

Sentencing present Defendant

9.Based on the guidelines in Cheung Mee Kiu, the present case is in the band of $3 million to $15 million and 5 to 9 years.  I take 7 years as the starting point.  Given her plea of guilty, I reduce it to 4 years and 8 months (i.e., 56 months).  Given her voluntary community service, I further reduce it to 4 years and 4 months.  This is her sentence.