HKSAR v. Liang Weilong

DCCC 149/2013

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 149 OF 2013

----------------------

---------------------

Reasons for Sentence

---------------------

1.Defendant you pleaded guilty to two charges before this court. The lst charge is that of assisting the passage to Hong Kong of unauthorised entrants, contrary to section 37D(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance. The 2nd charge is that of endangering the safety of others at sea, contrary to section 72 of the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance.

2.The facts can simply be stated that on 13 December 2012 at around 2235 hours police officers on board a police vessel saw your sampan, a motorised sampan, at the south of B Beacon Deep Bay, Hong Kong.  They then approached you at about 2308 hours and saw you steering the vessel. They signalled you to stop your vessel, but you ignored the police and sped away instead.  The police gave chase and approximately 2 minutes later just south of B Beacon Deep Bay in Hong Kong you were eventually stopped.  Apart from you there were two others on board the vessel, namely a Mainland woman and a Vietnamese man.

3.Examination of the vessel by a ship inspector found the vessel was unseaworthy.  The main hull structure was found in poor condition, there were no fire-fighting appliances or life-jackets on board, and there were no navigation lights fitted on board for night operation. 

4.Your solicitor, Mr Damy Lou, has mitigated on your behalf today and I have taken into account all that he has had to say. 

5.You are 21 years of age and are of clear record.  You have been educated up to Primary 5 and was previously a factory worker earning RMB1,000 in China.  You committed this offence as you were going to be provided with financial remuneration.  Mr Lou tells me that you did not know the seriousness of the offence. 

6.I have been submitted two cases by the prosecution to assist me in sentence, that is the case of HKSAR v Yeung Wui, CACC 415/2004, and HKSAR v Tang Zhuyan, CACC 223/2010, and your solicitor has also submitted a further case of HKSAR v Zhong Ming Jing, CACC 180/2010.  It is clear from the authorities, particularly that laid down in Wong Chi Kin, that the general applicable tariff for assisting the passage of others is one of 5 years’ imprisonment where the person assisting the passage is the captain or the person in charge of the vessel, which is what you were in this instance. 

7.For the offence of endangering the safety of others at sea, in this instance the offence concerned was because the vessel was unseaworthy.  The vessel is a typical Mainland registered fibreglass motorised vessel fitted with an outboard engine.  It is blue in colour, and its overall length is 5.81 metres. 

8.There is no evidence in this case of the dangerous manner of your driving or of poor sea conditions.  As is often in these type of cases, there was an attempt by you to escape the police by speeding away, but in this case you were very shortly stopped by the police some 2 minutes later.  The facts of this case are very similar to the facts in Tang Zhuyan and I am guided by the sentence imposed in that case. 

9.In the circumstances, defendant, I shall sentence you to the following terms of imprisonment.  Defendant, on Charge 1 I would have taken a starting point of 5 years after trial had I convicted you after trial.  However, you have pleaded guilty to the charge and the one-third discount is applicable and that term shall be reduced to one of 3 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.

10.On Charge 2, had I convicted you after trial I would have taken a starting point of 12 months’ imprisonment.  Giving you full credit for your plea of guilty, that term is reduced to one of 8 months’ imprisonment. 

11.Taking into account the principle of totality, I order 2 months of Charge 2 to run consecutive to Charge, 1 making a total term of imprisonment 3 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.