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HCCC230/2010
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 230 OF 2010
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HKSAR |
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v. |
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Kong Pui-lam (A1) |
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Chow Wai-kei (A2) |
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Date: |
30 March 2011 at 12.30 pm |
Present: |
Mr Michael Arthur and Ms Nisha Mohamed, on fiat, for HKSAR
Mr Paul Loughran, instructed by Edmund Cheung & Co., for the 1st Accused
Mr Chau Ka-chun, Philip, instructed by Ip, Kwan & Co., for the 2nd Accused |
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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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COURT: I must say, without reservation, that in all of the years that I have been in the practice of law in Hong Kong, I have never encountered a more callous and genuinely heinous crime than you two together contrived to effect. This was no spur-of-the-moment action on your parts, this was a cold and calculated decision made by the two of you to take the life of this innocent young woman for the very basest of reasons, namely, that you were in need of money.
Chen Fan was chosen by you, undoubtedly because she was alone in Hong Kong; she had no family here. You thought she would not be missed. Once that insurance policy had been put in place on her life, the two of you set about bringing about her death. You planned this over weeks and months. You went to the extent of looking at the internet to determine methods to kill her. You took her to Shenzhen but did not find the opportunity to effect your plan.
Ultimately, on 12 February, however, you put your plan into effect. Together, you plied her with alcohol. Having done that, you took her to the waterfront at Tsim Sha Tsui. It was there, in furtherance of that plan, that you, the 1st defendant, pushed her into the sea on a signal given by the 2nd defendant. Matters did not cease there, however. Both of you entered the water and pushed her head under the water, clearly intending to kill her. You both knew that she could not swim.
It was only at the 11th hour after this that you, the 1st defendant, decided that you would take no further part in this action. That is to your credit. But it was too late.
For the crime of attempted murder, there are no set guidelines for sentencing. In my opinion - and your counsel does not seek to disagree - your crime is at the upper extreme of that offence. The maximum penalty for the offence of attempted murder is life imprisonment.
I do not intend to sentence you to life imprisonment but I do sentence you to 21 years’ imprisonment.
2nd defendant, you are sentenced to life imprisonment as the law requires.
In the case of both of you, this was the most despicable of crimes.
Please refer to CACC147/2011 for the relevant appeal(s) to the Court of Appeal. |