Hong Kong company boss jailed 10 years for HK$4m theft plot
Logistics company head was insider in gang of five which carried out premeditated HK$4m robbery of iPhones and computer chips in 2013
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 05 July, 2015, 5:53am
UPDATED : Sunday, 05 July, 2015, 5:53am
Chris Lau [email protected]
The burned out van was found in Tai Wo Hau after the fake robbery.Photo: SMP pictures
The boss of a logistics company was jailed yesterday for 10 years for being an insider in a "premeditated, well-planned" robbery in Kwun Tong in 2013 which involved HK$4 million worth of iPhones and computer chips.
Lau Chung-kee, 30, not only told his gang the type of goods they could expect and the whereabouts of the delivery van, but also pretended to be a victim in an attempt to conceal the crime, High Court judge Mr Justice Kevin Zervos said.
"This is a premeditated, well-planned robbery that was executed with precision," Zervos said, before sentencing Lau and two of his accomplices.
One of those accomplices was Wong Ka-fai, 38 - a repeat offender with what the judge called an appalling record of 34 crimes. He was also jailed for 10 years.
Both Lau and Wong had pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.
Chen Long-yin, 22, who had denied handling stolen goods, was jailed for three years.
Earlier, the court heard Lau teamed up with others to stage a car crash on the night of November 4, 2013, to facilitate the robbery.
He was travelling with a client who had assigned him the delivery job when he suddenly stopped his vehicle along Wai Yip Street to look at the rear-view mirrors.
Three accomplices then rammed their vehicle into the back of Lau's van and got inside. One of them held the client's head down and pointed a knife at his neck.
They later pushed the client out of the van and drove off with 392 stolen iPhone 5s and about 1,700 Intel computer chips.
The van was later found burned out in Tai Wo Hau. The court heard that since the incident, goods worth about HK$2.85 million have been recovered, although 72 iPhones and 945 computer chips have still not been recovered.
Claiming to be a victim, Lau visited a police station with superficial red marks on his body and told officers he had been dropped off in Ma On Shan, the court heard.
"That was all part of the pretence of the robbery," Zervos said.
Investigators found Lau had called Wong 11 times before the crash, and Wong possessed a copy of the witness statement Lau had given to the police, the court heard.
In mitigation, Lau's counsel Liza Yip said he played a smaller role than it would appear.
Zervos replied: "In my view, however, he played a pivotal role in this conspiratorial enterprise."
Yip said Lau was not aware his van would be burned, or knew violence would be involved. She insisted the van had not been purchased for the sole purpose of the crime.
Zervos said the case against Lau was serious, in that "he breached the trust the client placed in him".
Two other co-defendants, Chung Tze-chun and Fong Siu-yu, will be sentenced on July 28.
