A A
B B
DCCC 872/2010
C IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE C
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
D CRIMINAL CASE NO. 872 OF 2010 D
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E HKSAR E
v
F F
LAU Man-to
G ____________ G
H Before : Deputy District Judge Dufton H
Date : 27 September 2010
I Present: Mr William Siu, Public Prosecutor, of the Department of I
Justice, for HKSAR
J Miss Deca Lin of Messrs Deca Lin & partners assigned by the J
Director of Legal Aid, for the defendant
K Offences: (1) Burglary (入屋犯法罪) K
(2) Knowingly misleading a police officer by giving false
L information （明知地提供虛假資料以誤導警務人員） L
(3) & (4) Theft (盜竊罪)
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REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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1. The defendant pleads guilty to one charge of burglary of domestic
O premises, contrary to section 11(1)(a) and (4) of the Theft Ordinance, O
Chapter 210 (charge 1); one charge of knowingly misleading a police
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officer, contrary to section 64(b) of the Police Force Ordinance, Chapter
Q 232 (charge 2); and two charges of theft, contrary to section 9 of the Q
Theft Ordinance (charges 3 & 4).
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S 2. Full particulars of the offences are set out in the summary of facts S
admitted by the defendant. The following is a brief summary of the facts
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of each charge, all of which were connected.
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A A
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3. At about 08:15 hours on the 10th May this year Mr Ho Sum-chiu,
C who was living at Room C, Front Block, 1/F, 95 Chung On Street, Tsuen C
Wan, left home. At 09:00 the defendant, who at the time was living at
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Room D, used a screwdriver to unlock the door of his neighbour. The
E defendant took away a Bank of China passbook from the bedroom E
(charge 1).
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G 4. The defendant then went to the Tsuen Wan police station. G
Pretending to be Mr Ho the defendant claimed he had lost his identity
H H
card (charge 2). The defendant was issued with a Loss Memo, which he
I then took to a branch of the Bank of China in Tsuen Wan and withdrew I
HK$9,600 in the morning and $17,400 in the afternoon (charges 3 & 4).
J J
The defendant then returned to Room C and put the bank passbook back
K in the bedroom. K
L 5. Earlier on the 7th May Mr Ho had deposited in the bank account a L
cheque for HK$17, 411. When he used his ATM card to withdraw the
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money on the evening of the 10th May the card was retained by the
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machine. Mr Ho returned home to check his passbook. Unaware his
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home had been burgled Mr Ho by looking in the passbook discovered that O
the money had already been withdrawn earlier in the day.
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Q 6. The next day the bank confirmed the money had been withdrawn Q
when the bank passbook and Loss Memo were produced. Mr Ho was
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shown the bank CCTV and identified the defendant as the person who
S withdrew the money. The defendant was arrested and admitted S
committing the offences because he was in debt.
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A A
B B
7. The correct starting point for a single burglary of domestic premises
C committed by a first offender of full age where there are no aggravating C
or mitigating features is three years imprisonment (see Attorney General
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v LUI Kam-chi [1993] 1 HKC 215 as applied in Attorney General v LO
E Ching-fai [1996] 2 HKCLR 20). E
F F
8. I have carefully considered the circumstances of the burglary. By
G going to the police station and pretending to be Mr Ho, so he could steal G
Mr Ho’s money, and then in an attempt to cover up his crime putting
H H
back the bank passbook, one may argue this should attract a higher
I starting point. This shows a degree of planning and cunning, which I
would perhaps indicate a person with criminal experience.
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K 9. That is not however the case, the defendant having never been in K
trouble before. The background report speaks well of the defendant, who
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has regularly contributed to his family and has no vices such as gambling
M or drugs. Due to a period of unemployment between mid 2008 and mid M
2009 the defendant had to borrow money from friends and relatives to
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provide for his family’s needs. I note from the defendant’s letter he was
O led to crime after losing his job. Pressed for repayment the defendant O
resorted to crime. I accept the defendant has remorse for his crimes.
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Q 10. I have carefully considered everything said on behalf of the Q
defendant by Miss Lin, including the defendant has a young family to
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look after. The family is always the one to suffer. However I note from
S the background report the children are living with the defendant’s wife S
and mother and are therefore well looked after.
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A A
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11. In deciding the appropriate starting point I bear in mind all that said
C by the Court of Appeal in HKSAR v LEUNG Pui-shan CACC 317/2007 C
of the need for individual justice. In all the circumstances I am satisfied
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the appropriate starting point for the burglary is three years imprisonment;
E for knowingly misleading a police officer three months imprisonment and E
six months imprisonment on each of the theft charges. Taking into
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account all the offences are related, being a series of acts, I accept
G Miss Lin’s submission that concurrent sentences are appropriate. G
H H
12. The bank having compensated Mr Ho has suffered the loss of
I $27,000. The defendant and his family are unable to repay the bank and I
do not consent to the bail money being taken as compensation. The
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defendant does however agree to the monies found in his possession on
K arrest, some $3,000, being paid to the bank. Accordingly I make an order K
in terms of the written application for disposal of exhibits. Although this
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is a very small sum the defendant is given credit for agreeing to this sum
M being paid to the bank. This is reflected by reducing the sentence on the M
burglary charge by one month.
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O
13. Giving the defendant full credit for his pleas of guilty he is sentenced O
as follows:
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Charge 1 – 1 year and 11months imprisonment;
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Charge 2 – 2 months imprisonment concurrent to charge 1
R Charge 3 – 4 months imprisonment concurrent to charges 1 & 2; and R
Charge 4 – 4 months imprisonment concurrent to charges 1, 2 & 3
S S
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(D. J. DUFTON)
Deputy District Judge
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