HKSAR v. Lee Yee Man, Mandy

DCCC190/2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 190 OF 2011

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to two charges before this court. The first charge is that of using a false instrument, that is a forged credit card, contrary to section 73 of the Crimes Ordinance. The second charge is one of possessing a false instrument, and that is possessing a forged credit card other than the credit card in Charge 1, contrary to section 75(1) of the Crimes Ordinance.

2.Both charges were committed on 30 December 2010. At about 5.30 pm on that day, a police officer noticed you wandering in the vicinityof the Lee Garden Road furtively.  He therefore kept you under observation.  He saw you enter a shop at 23, Ground Floor, Phoenix Apartment in Lee Garden Road. 

3.Inside the shop, you requested to buy a handbag and purse valued at $33,300 in total.  You presented to the saleslady a forged NSGB Bank visa card in your own name for payment.  The saleslady had seen there was no chip on the card but nevertheless slashed the card in the credit card machine by which the transaction failed.

4.She then told you she had to verify the card with the card centre.  Having heard this, you immediately took back the card and intended to leave the shop.  It was at this juncture that you were intercepted by the police officer who was keeping you under observation.

5.Upon search, another forged credit card, a Bank of America MasterCard was found inside your purse, the subject matter of Charge 2.  The cards were examined by the Forensic Scientist, and he concluded that both cards were forged credit cards - that is the one used to attempt to purchase the handbag and purse and the card found in your possession.

6.Under caution you admitted that you intended to earn quick money, and in a subsequent recorded interview conducted that day you confirmed having used the visa card in the shop.   

7.Mr Samson Wong King-fai, your solicitor, has made full and thorough migration on your behalf today.  You are 25 years of age and have four previous convictions, two relating to possession of dangerous drugs in 2007 and 2008, to which you were fined $6,000 and $4,000 respectfully, and in January this year, 2011, on 20 January, you were given two 10 months’ sentences of imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud, of which the total term was 12 months on both charges. 

8.For those offences of conspiracy to defraud, I am informed that you had defrauded the Immigration Department in that you were registered to marry two different people.  They were arranged marriage for which you would be rewarded for marrying. 

9.As to the reasons you committed the present offences, I am informed by Mr Wong that until 2006 you were doing quite well in your life, that is until age 20.

10.I turn back a bit.  You were educated in Hong Kong and had completed a Higher Diploma in Beauty and Skin Care and worked as a beautician in various beauty centres from 2002 to 2006.  

11.In 2006, however, as a result of an unhappy relationship with your boyfriend you attempted to committed suicide.  You were then aged 20.  I informed that you barely escaped death but this incident left you with permanent pain and suffering.  As a consequence of your attempt to commit suicide certain nerves of your left hand were damaged permanently and you have sudden attacks of numbness and loss of sensation.  Because of this, you unfortunately could not return to your previous profession as a beautician because that demands a pair of skilful hands which you do not now have.

12.In 2009, added to that predicament, you were further diagnosed with a kidney disease and now have to take permanent medication and have regular hospital check-ups every 3 months.

13.I am informed that for the conspiracy to defraud that was about the forged marriage, you had committed those offences as you were indebted to a credit card company and therefore you agreed to register a marriage with other people.  Quite unfortunately for you, I am informed that you registered a marriage to two different people and perhaps that is why you were caught. 

14.As to this offence, as stated under caution, you committed this offence to earn quick money.

15.I am informed that once you purchased the expensive goods or items with the forged credit card you would then sell the expensive goods at either half the market value or 20 to 30 per cent of the market value. 

16.Mr Wong has rightly referred me to the two cases of Chan Sui To and Another [1996] HKCAR 128 and HKSAR v Tu I Lang [2007] 2 HKLRD as the factors to be taken into consideration upon using forged credit cards. 

17.I take into account those factors. I am informed that you had purchased these two forged credit cards for $1,500 each.  The sum of money involved upon use of the forged credit card was not large but cannot also be considered small, it was $33,300.  You had intended to use these credit cards to earn money.  You had purchased these credit cards in your own name.  There is no international dimension in this case, and you have not played a major role and you appear to be just a mere user of the card.

18.As the case of Tu I Lang says, where the facts of the offence point to a small unsophisticated operation involving only one or a few forged credit cards uncomplicated by other evidence materially linking the offender to a large operation, then a starting point of 3 years’ imprisonment or less would be appropriate.  You fall squarely within this observation.

19.Defendant, taking these factors into account, I consider a starting point of 3 years’ imprisonment to be appropriate on both charges.  However, you have pleaded guilty to both charges and therefore a full one-third discount will be given and those terms will be reduced to one of 2 years’ imprisonment. 

20.I order both charges to run concurrent to each other. That means a total of 2 years’ imprisonment. 

21.In respect of this term, I order 6 months’ of the present term of 2 years to run concurrent to the present term you are serving to which you were sentenced on 20 January 2011.  The remaining will be consecutive.  So 18 months’ of this term will run consecutive to the 12 months’ you are serving in the other case.