HKSAR v. Fung Yiu Cho

DCCC507/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONGSPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 507 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.The defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of burglary in that he entered as a trespasser part of a building known as two warehouses in Shatin, New Territories.

2.The two warehouses were situated in an area surrounded by metal fence. However, the metal gate at the entrance remained open all the time.

3.Inside the two warehouses were an electricity charger, a chainsaw and two metal bars, and at 2 pm on 26 February this year the owner had locked the doors to the warehouses and left the premises.

4.He returned to the site at 1.30 am on 27 February and he saw the defendant. The defendant was squatting by a private car, and the owner saw that he was checking the contents of a plastic bag containing the chainsaw. Under the private car was the electricity charger, and also the owner saw the two metal bars inside the boot of the private car.

5.When asked what he was doing, the defendant replied that he was repairing his car. The owner walked away and immediately reported to the police.

6.The police arrived and found that the electricity charger, the chainsaw and the two metal bars had already been moved away from the private car. They also found that the padlock to the warehouses were cut and damaged.

7.Under caution, the defendant denied that he had stolen anything and he did not know why the two metal bars had been removed from his car before the police arrived.

8.The defendant is aged 28, and he has three previous occasions when he has been in court. He has had one previous under the Theft Ordinance, and that is in 2000 when he was charged with taking a conveyance without authority. The rest of the offences are not related.

9.His last offence was in 2004 when he was sentenced to 4 months for possession of an identity card relating to another person and using a copy of a false instrument.

10.In fact, the first conviction which I have mentioned about taking a conveyance without authority is regarded as a spent conviction now.

11.Mr Chan has pointed out correctly that in 2009, on 24 July, he was bound over for 12 months to keep the peace. I agree with Mr Boyton that it is totally different from the present case, in that in that previous binding over, was that he should abstain from violence against any person.

12.The defendant is well-aware that the Court of Appeal has laid down guidelines for burglary of non-domestic premises. The recommended starting point is one of 30 months’ imprisonment, and that is for a man with a clear record.

13.I do take into account that although the defendant has a record, it is for relatively minor offences.

14.All the property has been recovered, so I will not increase that level of starting point. So, because of the defendant’s plea, he deserves one-third deduction. He is sentenced therefore to 20 months’ imprisonment.