HKSAR v. Lam Wang Fat

DCCC 1033/2014

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1033 OF 2014

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Reasons for Sentence
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Charge and facts

1.The Defendant pleads guilty to the burglary of the premises of a fitness club on the 2/F of a commercial building in Yaumatei, Kowloon, Hong Kong.  

2.The instructor of the club and the cousin of the owner were sleeping there in the early morning.  The instructor was woken up by some noise and saw a shadow at the cashier’s counter.  He turned on the light and found the Defendant, who was wearing gloves.  He woke the cousin of the owner.  They dashed out and subdued the Defendant.  Upon their demand, the Defendant took out $2,530 from his trouser pocket.  The instructor informed the owner, who reported to the police. 

3.The police arrived and searched the Defendant.  They found on him a screwdriver and a pair of gloves.  Upon enquiry, he said that he had climbed along the scaffolding on the façade of the building and entered the club through an unlocked window, and that he had prized open the drawer of the cashier counter with the screwdriver.  Subsequent investigation confirmed that the prizing mark on the drawer matched with the size of the screwdriver head found on him. 

4.There were signs of ransacking at the cashier’s counter.  The drawer was prized open. From inside the drawer, a box containing $122.50 cash had been taken out and another box containing $2,530 cash missing.  The latter sum tallied with the cash found on the Defendant.       

Mitigation

5.He is 41 years of age, of F. 1 education level.  He was unemployed at the time of the offence.  He had 8 previous convictions.  Of relevance may well be a conspiracy to rob sentenced in 1993 and an attempted burglary sentenced in 2011.  However, I do not regard him as a repeat burglar.   

Sentencing guidelines

6.In A.G. v. Lui Kam-chi  [1993] 1 HKC 215, the Court of Appeal states that the proper starting point for non-domestic premises shall be 2 ½ years’ imprisonment for a first offender of full age.

Sentencing this defendant

7.I take a starting point of 2 ½ years.  I give a one-third discount for his plea of guilty.  There are no other mitigating factors.  His sentence is 20 months.