HKSAR v. Cheng Yiu Chung

DCCC1041/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONGSPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1041 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.The defendant pleaded guilty to two charges of burglary.

2.Both charges concerned the same premises, namely the 1st floor of No. 363 Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei. The premises were entered by the defendant on 19 June and 20 July, and property was stolen from the premises.

3.I was told that the defendant occupied the 2nd floor of the building where the burglary took place.

4.The victim’s flat consists of, amongst other things, a balcony. The victim operates a recycling business from his home. Various tools and equipment were stored on the balcony, which was at the material time unsecured. However, there were CCTV cameras.

5.The victim left his flat at l0 o’clock on the morning of 16 June, and when he returned later in the evening, he discovered that a roll of electric wire measuring 300 metres in length and valued at $2½ thousand was missing from the balcony. The CCTV recordings captured the image of a person entering the premises.

6.The following month, on 20 July at 12.40, the victim again left his flat. When he returned half an hour later, he saw the defendant standing on his balcony. The victim discreetly returned to the flat and reviewed the CCTV recordings, and recognised the defendant as being the person who had entered his balcony the month before.

7.On 20 July, the defendant, after he had been observed by the victim, ransacked the balcony and took a number of multiple socket extensions valued at around $560, and he put them in a rucksack he was carrying. The victim went to a back alley on the ground floor and kept the defendant under observation.

An unknown male suddenly shouted at the defendant, who immediately climbed up the water pipes back to his residence on the floor above.

8.The police were called and they attended at the defendant’s residence, and the defendant was arrested. He admitted both offences, and the officers recovered from his residence the multiple socket extensions which he stole in the second burglary.

9.The defendant has a number of previous convictions. He has appeared before the court on 12 previous occasions. They cover a range of criminal offences, but I note that in 2000, for two burglaries, he was sent to prison for 18 months. In April 2008 he was imprisoned for 4 weeks for possession of an offensive weapon.

10.I am told that the defendant is 34 years of age. He is born in Hong Kong and educated to Primary 6 level. I am told that he was married two years ago and there are no children from that relationship. He was employed as a part-time construction worker, but I am told that at the time of the offences, work was very hard to come by, and frequently he only managed to work for a few days a month.

11.It was pointed out that although technically these are domestic burglaries, the area entered was used for business purposes and there was no invasion of the privacy of the victim’s home.

12.There were no aggravating features. The value of property involved was comparatively low. The thefts were committed during the daytime and they were opportunistic in nature.

13.Having considered all the circumstances, I propose to take a starting point of 2½ years for these offences and reduce them by one-third to reflect the guilty pleas entered by the defendant.

14.The sentence in respect of each offence will be one of 20 months’ imprisonment and I order them to run concurrently.