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DCCC 1419/2024
C [2025] HKDC 1423 C
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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE
E HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION E
CRIMINAL CASE NO 1419 OF 2024
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HKSAR
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v
I KAN KUI LAM I
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K Before: Deputy District Judge M Chow in Court (Open to Public) K
Date: 15 August 2025
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Present: Mr Sunny SIT, Public Prosecutor for HKSAR/Director of
M Public Prosecutions M
Mr Frederick FONG, instructed by T C Lau & Co, assigned
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by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Defendant
O Offence: Burglary（入屋犯法罪） O
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REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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1. The Defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary.
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Summary of facts
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E 2. The incident took place in a subdivided unit in Shum Shui Po. E
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3. At around 6 pm on 18 July 2024, PW1 locked the door of the
G subdivided unit and returned to the flat at about 9 am the following day G
when she found the door lock was priced open. An air conditioner went
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missing.
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4. CCTV captured the followings:-
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K (a) At around, 9.26 pm, the Defendant walked towards the K
subdivided flat
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M (b) At around 10.15 pm, the Defendant was seen holding a M
strip bag containing the air conditioner, walked
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downstairs and left the building.
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Arrest
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Q 5. The Defendant was arrested on 24 July 2024. He admitted Q
under caution that:-
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S (a) He had sought massage services from PW1 for 40 to 50 S
times in the past four to five years.
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(b) In around May 2024, he had an argument with PW1
C over her massage skills and therefore he held a grudge C
against her.
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E (c) He admitted that he used his hands to pull open the door E
lock of the flat and stole the air conditioner therein.
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G Criminal record G
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6. The Defendant has 10 previous criminal records between
I 1978 to 2021. Most of them were gambling offences and he was ordered I
to pay fines as sentences. None of his past convictions are related to the
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present offence.
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Background
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M 7. The Defendant is now 70 and widowed in 2012. He lost M
contact with his 2 adult children and lives alone.
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O 8. He retired in 2017 and receives government old aged living O
allowance to support his living.
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Q 9. He suffers from colorectal cancer and is now undergoing Q
chemotherapy. As such, this court adjourned the sentence pending for
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updated medical report and background report.
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Sentence
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10. The usual sentence for a domestic burglary is 3 years’
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imprisonment. I take 3 years as the starting point, given the fact that the
E Defendant pleaded guilty to the charge, I reduce the sentence to 2 years E
after 1/3 discount.
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G 11. The Court of Appeal has reiterated time and again that unless G
there are very special circumstances in the case or there are exceptionally
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strong mitigating factors, the proper sentencing option for this offence is
I imprisonment:- I
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(i) HKSAR v Wong Yiu Kuen1
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(ii) HKSAR v Po Yan Chuen2
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M (iii) HKSAR v Wan Ka Kit 3 M
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12. What constitutes special/exceptional circumstances depends
O on all the circumstances of the commissions of that offence and that of the O
Defendant in determining whether or not it is appropriate to exercise its
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power to suspend the operation of the sentence of imprisonment.
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Reported in [2002] 1 HKLRD 712
2
CACC 232/2001
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Reported in [2006] 3 HKLRD 9
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13. In the present case, there are special circumstances:-
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(a) He is now 70 years old with cancer. He found out his
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medical condition just 4 months ago.
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(b) The initial medical report4 tells me that this is a stage 2
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colon cancer, however, he has recurrent liver metastasis.
G He is now undergoing palliative chemotherapy to G
reduce pain and spreading of cancer cells.
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I (c) However, the updated medical report5 - about a month I
ago - stated that the Defendant has recurrent stage 4
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colon cancer with multiple liver metastases, comprising
K four lesions, with the largest lesion exceeding 3 cm in K
diameter.
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M (d) That means the situation of the Defendant’s health M
condition has been deteriated drastically over the last 2
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months , from stage 2 migrates to stage 4.
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(e) The doctor is of the opinion that:-
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Q “based on the current data and treatment response Q
patterns for similar cases, the expected median overall
survival is approximately 18 to 24 months, assuming
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continues systemic treatment and stable performance
status.”
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4
Dated 6 June 2025
5
Dated 14 July 2025
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14. On the other hand, the stolen property is obviously an old air-
C conditioner (about $500), or may be even useless because the owner C
declined to take it back. Before the Defendant stole it, it was placed on a
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bed inside the sub-divided unit.
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15. The offence of burglary under s.11 of the Theft Ordinance is
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not an excepted offence under Schedule 3 of the Criminal Procedure
G Ordinance Cap 221. That means that this Court can impose a suspend G
sentence.
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I 16. According to S 109B(1) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, I
Cap 211, which provides :-
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K “(1) A court which passes a sentence of imprisonment for a K
term of not more than 2 years for an offence, other than an
expected offence, may order that the sentence shall not take
L effect unless, during a period specified in the order, being not L
less than 1 year nor more than 3 years from the date of the order,
M the offender commits in Hong Kong another offence punishable M
with imprisonment and thereafter a court having power to do so
orders under S 109C that the original sentence shall take effect.”
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17. Taking the most updated medical report into account,
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especially the Defendant’s health condition is deteriorating very quickly,
P he has a life expectancy of about 18 to 24 months. In such circumstances, P
I take an empathy and compassionate approach in sentencing the
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Defendant, I consider that this is an exceptional case to warrant a suspend
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sentence. As such, I order the 2 years’ imprisonment term to be suspended
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for a period of 3 years. S
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18. The Defendant is warned of the consequences of committing
C any offence during the operational period of suspension of sentence. That C
means within the coming 3 years, the Court has power to activate the
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suspended sentence if he is convicted of any other offence.
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F F
G ( M Chow ) G
Deputy District Judge
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