HKSAR v. Wong Mei Heung

DCCC481/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 481 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.Defendant, you pleaded not guilty to one offence of burglary, contrary to sections 11(1)(b) and (4) of the Theft Ordinance, Cap.210, and guilty to the alternative offence of theft, contrary to section 9 of the same ordinance.

2.I dismissed the charge of burglary on an offer of no evidence by the prosecution.  In respect of the second charge, on your admission of the facts, I convicted you.

3.Briefly the facts were as follows.

4.At around 2.30 pm on 15 February of this year, Mr Wong Ping-mui (PW1), who was aged 90, was alone at his home, which is Room 2719, Tsui Ping (South) Estate, Kwun Tong.  The doorbell rang and when he opened it, you wished him a happy Chinese New Year. PW1 did not know you but he allowed you to enter because, given his age and his poor eyesight, he thought you may be a friend.

5.You went inside together with a male (Wanted Person 1) and snatched a wristwatch from the toilet, valued at $1,000, the property of PW1’s grandson.  You passed that watch to the wanted person and told him to leave.

6.You then went into the bedroom, opened the drawer of a plastic cabinet, and took out some clothes for PW1 and then left.

7.Upon checking the drawer, PW1 found $750 to be missing.  When his grandson (PW2) returned, he found that his watch was missing.

8.Around 7 pm on 17 February of last, PW2 returned to the premises and found you knocking at the door again.  The police were called.

9.At about 7.30 pm you were arrested and admitted under caution stealing the watch and cash.

10.At 5.13 pm the next day, interviewed under video conditions and under caution, you admitted the following:

1. That on 15 February of that year, you entered the premises and stole the watch and $320 out of greed.

2. That you had spent the cash and discarded the watch.

3. That you went back to the premises on 17 February with a view to obtaining further property.

11.You admitted to 11 previous convictions on

12.I adjourned sentence to obtain a probation officer’s background report and also to allow you to arrange for compensation to be paid to the victim.  I do note with approval that that has been done.  The victim has been compensated $1,790.

13.Miss Ho, on the previous occasion and today, has entered mitigation on your behalf. 

14.You are aged 34, educated to Form 3, and divorced.  You have been in a long-term cohabitation with your boyfriend.  You have a daughter who is now an adult.

15.I note that you had an unhappy childhood, coming from a broken home.

16.I note the presence today of your boyfriend to offer support.  I am told also that there are members of your church present today.

17.The background that Miss Ho laid before me is generally supported by the probation officer’s report.

18.Since an early age, you have had problems with drugs and this has led to the commission of crime. Both on your behalf and through the letter you have written to me, you have expressed the hope to put this behind you and start again.  In that letter, you express remorse.  Your plea of guilty supports this, as does the payment of compensation.

19.I turn now to the sentence.

20.This was a callous offence.  You took advantage of the confusion of your elderly victim.  You took advantage to enter his home and to steal goods.  I note that the goods were not of a particularly high value.

21.I accept that this is a plea to theft and that is, on the facts, correct.  However, it does not differ that much from a burglary in that the entrance into the home was based upon the confusion of the victim.  The invitation extended to you was extended in mistake.

22.The payment of compensation does go some way to rectify what you have done.

23.In sentencing you, I take into account that payment of compensation, the facts of the case, the mitigation advanced on your behalf by Miss Ho, and the contents of the very comprehensive and helpful probation officer’s report.

24.I have noted what you have said in your letter to me.  I express the hope that this is not just false and empty promises and that you really do intend to change your ways.

25.I note also that you are a lady with a very poor criminal record. 

26.I think you are realistic enough to appreciate there has to be prison sentence.  I will therefore keep it as short as I can, consistent with my public duty.

27.Taking all the factors into account that I have mentioned, I take as a starting point 21 months’ imprisonment.  For your plea of guilty, that is reduced to 14 months.

28.You will go to prison for 14 months.

Application for leave to appeal against sentence to Court of Appeal dismissed. Please refer to CACC273/2010 dated 3 November 2010