DCCC271/2024

DCCC271/2024

A A B B DCCC 271/2024 C [2025] HKDC 531 C D D IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE E HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION E CRIMINAL CASE NO 271 OF 2024 F F G ---------------------------- G HKSAR H H v I YANG CHUNG KI I ---------------------------- J J K Before: Deputy District Judge Caesar Lo K Date: 25 March 2025 L L Present: Mr Brain Cheng, Public Prosecutor, for HKSAR M Mr Robert Chan, instructed by Anthony Kwan & Co, assigned M by the Director of Legal Aid, for the defendant N N Offence: [1] Theft（盜竊罪） O O [2] Dangerous driving（危險駕駛） P [3] Driving without a valid driving licence（駕駛時無有 P 效駕駛執照） Q Q [4] Using a motor vehicle without third party insurance（沒 R R 有第三者保險而使用汽車） S S T T U U V V  -2- A A B B C ---------------------------------------- C REASONS FOR SENTENCE D D ---------------------------------------- E E 1. The Defendant faced 5 charges, namely : F F G (1) Theft, contrary to s.9 of the Theft Ordinance (Cap 210) G (Charge 1); H H I (2) Dangerous driving, contrary to s.37 of the Road Traffic I Ordinance (Cap 374) (Charge 2); J J K (3) Driving without a valid driving licence, contrary to K s.42(1) and (4) of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap 374) L L ( Charge 3); M M (4) Using a motor vehicle without third party insurance, N N contrary to s.4(1) and (2)(a) of the Motor Vehicles O Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance (Cap 272) O (Charge 4); and P P Q (5) Failing to surrender to custody without reasonable Q cause, contrary to s 9L(1) and (3) of the Criminal R R Procedure Ordinance (Cap 221) (Charge 5). S S T T U U V V  -3- A A B B C 2. The Defendant pleaded guilty to Charges 1 to 4 and was C convicted accordingly. Upon the application of the Prosecution, I ordered D D Charge 5 to be left on court file and not to proceed with without the leave E of the court. E F F Summary of Facts G G 3. CHAN Chun-kit (“PW1”) was the registered owner of a H H motorcycle with vehicle registration number XF9422 (“the Motorcycle”). I I 4. At around 6 pm on 16.7.2022, PW1 parked the Motorcycle J J near lamppost VD 9246, Sha Po Tsuen, Sha Po Tsuen Road, Kam Tin. He K returned at 9 am the following day to find that the Motorcycle had gone K missing. Case was reported. L L M 5. At around 1:58 pm on 1.9.2022, PC5819 (“PW2”), whilst on M motorcycle patrol, spotted the Defendant driving the Motorcycle on N N Gascoigne Road. At the time, the Defendant was cutting between lanes O multiple times and over-taking other moving vehicles. PW2 turned on the O beacon lights of his police motorcycle and followed the Defendant. P P Q 6. In the course of the subsequent pursuit, the Defendant drove Q the Motorcycle on a road dangerously in that he: R R S (i) engaged in a prolonged period of bad driving in an S attempt to escape police pursuit; T T U U V V  -4- A A B B (ii) failed to comply with traffic signals; C C (iii) failed to comply with road markings; D D E (iv) failed to comply with police instructions; E F F (v) cut lanes and overtook other vehicles frequently; G G (vi) drove against the direction of vehicular traffic; and H H I (vii) collided with a pedestrian and another vehicle (Charge I 2). J J K 7. The Defendant eventually got off the Motorcycle at Chatham K Road North and fled on foot. He was subdued at around 2:08 pm on the L L same day. M M 8. Investigation revealed that the Defendant was a holder of a N N learner’s driving licence of Classes 1, 2, 3 and 22 which was valid until O 21.5.2021. At such, he did not hold any valid driving licence (Charge 3) O and was not covered by any third-party risk insurance policy (Charge 4). P P Q 9. The Defendant was arrested and admitted under caution that Q he stole the Motorcycle some 3 weeks ago on Nga Tsin Wai Road, R R Kowloon City (Charge 1). S S T T U U V V  -5- A A B B Criminal records C C 10. The Defendant has 20 court appearances for 44 offences, D D including: E E (a) 7 convictions for “Theft” (same as Charge 1); F F G (b) 2 convictions for “Handling stolen goods” and 2 G convictions for “Taking conveyance without authority” H H (offences under the Theft Ordinance); I I (c) 1 conviction for “Dangerous driving” (same as Charge J J 2); K K (d) 2 convictions for “Driving without a valid driving L L licence” (same as Charge 3); M M (e) 2 convictions for “Driving without third party N N insurance” (same as Charge 4); and O O (f) 10 convictions for drug-related offences. P P Q 11. The Defendant was released from the Drug Addiction Q Treatment Centre (DATC) on 4.5.2022 and committed the present offences R R on 1.9.2022. S S T T U U V V  -6- A A B B Traffic conviction record C C 12. The Defendant was first issued with his learner’s driving D D licence on 11.8.2015. He has a total of 23 convictions for “Failing to give E information on demand”. E F F Personal Background G G 13. The Defendant is now 45 years old. He has been educated up H H to secondary school level. At the time of the offences, he was single and I unemployed. He lived in public housing with his parents. I J J Mitigation K K 14. In mitigation, Counsel for the Defendant, Mr Chan, relied on L L the case of HKSAR v So Pak Lun CACC 276/2013 and invited me to M consider a starting point of 2 years’ imprisonment for Charge 1, M N N 15. With a view to assist the court, Mr Chan also referred me to O the facts and starting points of sentence adopted in a number of District O Court sentencing cases. P P Q 16. As to the Defendant’s similar previous convictions, Mr Chan Q submitted that they were more than a decade ago and urged me not to R R consider any enhancement of sentence. S S 17. Mr Chan also confirmed that there was no “special reason” T T put forward regarding the issue of disqualification. U U V V  -7- A A B B C Sentencing considerations C D D Charge 1 - Theft of a motorcycle E E 18. The maximum sentence for Charge 1 is one of 10 years’ F F imprisonment. G G 19. The offence involved the stealing of a motorcycle. In H H assessing the gravity of the offence, I take into account the following: I I (i) the Defendant acted alone in committing the offence; J J K (ii) the value of the Motorcycle was not particularly high K (PW1 purchased it in 2021 at the price of HK$51,900); L L M (iii) there was no evidence of any damage to the Motorcycle; M and N N O (iv) the inconvenience caused to PW1 lasted for weeks and O was not permanent in any event. P P Q 20. As such, I consider a starting point of 2 years’ imprisonment Q appropriate. On the other hand, while accepting that the Defendant’s theft- R R related convictions were more than a decade ago, I consider it an S aggravating factor that the Defendant committed the present offence less S than 4 months after his release from DATC. Indeed, the same applies to T T all the charges in this case. U U V V  -8- A A B B C 21. I therefore enhance the starting point by 6 months to 2 years C and 6 months. The Defendant is entitled to the 1/3 discount for his timely D D plea and the sentence is reduced to 20 months’ imprisonment. E E 22. Pursuant to s.69(1)(c) of the Road Traffic Ordinance, I F F disqualify the Defendant from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 3 G years. G H H Charge 2 - Dangerous driving I I 23. The maximum sentence for Charge 2 is one of 3 years’ J J imprisonment. K K 24. In assessing the gravity of the offence, I take into account the L L Defendant’s driving manner as set out in para. 6 above. M M 25. All in all, I consider it a serious case of dangerous driving, and N N it was sheer luck that the offence did not result in any serious injury to O person or damage to property. O P P 26. As such, I consider a starting point of 9 months’ imprisonment Q appropriate and enhance it by 3 months to 12 months. With the 1/3 Q discount, the sentence is reduced to 8 months’ imprisonment. R R S 27. It was the Defendant’s second conviction for the same offence. S In addition, the Defendant has 23 traffic convictions for “Failing to give T T information on demand”. I have checked the relevant court records and U U V V  -9- A A B B found that they all related to driving offences involving a motorcycle C owned by the Defendant at the relevant time. The same was confirmed by C Mr Chan on behalf of the Defendant today. D D E 28. I consider the Defendant’s traffic convictions appalling and E they showed a blatant disregard of the law. I therefore disqualify the F F Defendant from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 5 years. G G 29. In addition, pursuant to s 72(A)(1A) of the Road Traffic H H Ordinance, I order the Defendant to complete a driving improvement I course at his own expense within the last 3 months of his disqualification I period. J J K Charge 3 – Driving without a valid driving licence K L L 30. At the time of the offence, the Defendant was a holder of a M learner’s driving licence which was valid until 21.5.2021. The Defendant M has 2 similar previous convictions and is liable to a fine at Level 3 and N N imprisonment for 6 months. O O 31. I consider a starting point of 2 months’ imprisonment P P appropriate and enhance it by 1 month to 3 months. With the 1/3 discount, Q the sentence is reduced to 2 months’ imprisonment. Q R R Charge 4 – Driving without third party insurance S S 32. At the time of the offence, the Defendant used the Motorcycle T T on a road when there was no insurance coverage in respect of third-party U U V V  - 10 - A A B B risks. C C 33. The Defendant has 2 similar previous convictions and is liable D D to a fine at Level 3 and imprisonment for 12 months, plus a disqualification E order for a period between 12 months and 3 years. E F F 34. I consider a starting point of 2 months’ imprisonment G appropriate and enhance it by 1 month to 3 months. With the 1/3 discount, G the sentence is reduced to 2 months’ imprisonment. H H I 35. In addition, I disqualify the Defendant from holding or I obtaining a driving licence for 12 months. J J K Sentence K L L 36. Sentence on individual charges: M M (a) Charge 1 20 months’ plus disqualification period N N imprisonment of 3 years O (b) Charge 2 8 months’ plus disqualification period O imprisonment of 5 years and driving P P improvement course Q (c) Charge 3 2 months’ Q R imprisonment R (d) Charge 4 2 months’ plus disqualification period S S imprisonment of 12 months T T U U V V  - 11 - A A B B Totality C C 37. Taking into account the fact that Charges 2 to 4 arose out of D D the same facts, I order the imprisonment terms on Charges 2, 3 and 4 to run E concurrently, making a total of 8 months’ imprisonment. E F F 38. As to Charge 1, it was a separate and distinct offence from the G others. Nevertheless, considering the issue of totality, I order 4 months G from the imprisonment term on Charges 2 to 4 to run consecutively to that H H of Charge 1, making a total of 24 months’ imprisonment. I I 39. As to the disqualification periods, I order them to run J J concurrently, making a total period of 5 years. K K 40. Lastly, the Defendant has to complete a driving L L improvement course at his own expense within the last 3 months of his M disqualification period. M N N O O P P Q ( Caesar Lo ) Q Deputy District Judge R R S S T T U U V V