HKSAR v. Kanhachat Kanitra

DCCC1100/2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1100 OF 2011

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.The defendant has pleaded guilty to two offences of using a false instrument and one offence of possessing false instruments.

2.The facts show that the defendant, at the time of the offences, was a business class passenger on a flight from Beijing to Hong Kong.  She used three forged credit cards to purchase duty-free goods on the aeroplane.

3.The defendant initially selected some duty-free goods valued at $6,670 and purchased them with Exhibit 1, which is a forged credit card.

4.She then later made a further transaction using Exhibits 2 and 3 to purchase further duty-free goods, the total value of those goods being just over $11,000.

5.On reaching Hong Kong International Airport, she was arrested.  The cards that she had used to purchase the goods - Exhibits 1, 2 and 3 - were recovered from her.  Two other cards were recovered from a body search.

6.All five credit cards were confirmed to be forged, and the defendant is of clear record.  She is of Thai nationality.  She is aged 33 years old.  She has a son aged 15, studying in Thailand at school.  She is a widow, her husband dying some eight years ago.  She only has primary education and comes from a family of farmers.

7.After the death of her husband when she was 25, she had no means to support herself.  She then worked as a bar hostess until 2011 when she became unemployed.

8.She was brought into committing these offences by a person called “Michael”.  He would arrange for her to receive credit cards which she would then use to purchase duty-free goods onboard airplanes.  They would resell the goods in Thailand and then share any profits made.

9.In mitigation, it was said that she made frank admissions to the police after her arrest.  All the goods were recovered.  All the forged credit cards were recovered.  The defendant is remorseful and pleaded guilty, indicated a plea of guilty at the earliest possible opportunity. 

10.I have been referred to the case of Tu I Lang in terms of sentencing, which indicates starting points of around

11.I believe that the defendant’s aspect of this credit card fraud can be described as small-scale.  She was recruited to use a few credit cards to buy medium value goods for resale on landing.  How many other people Michael operated with is, of course, not known.  The defendant is certainly the person who takes all the risk.

12.I believe, given the nature of this credit card fraud, I can take a starting point at 3 years’ imprisonment in respect of each charge.

13.She is entitled to a full one-third discount from that starting point.

14.After deduction for her plea of guilty, then the sentence on each charge will be one of 2 years’ imprisonment.

15.In considering the overall totality, I take into account the following factors:  that all the offences were committed at approximately the same time and in the same place, that she is the mother of a 15-year-old child, and is not a resident of Hong Kong.

16.I will, therefore, order all the sentences to run concurrently, to a total sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment.