A 28-year-old mainland Chinese man was jailed for 11 years by the High Court on Monday for robbery and kidnapping a veteran Hong Kong architect in Sai Kung in the New Territories last year.
Judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap rebuked defendant Yang Chao for the “carefully planned” robbery and kidnapping, which took place on December 15 last year, Headline Daily reported.
The judge said Yang claimed he was manipulated by two compatriots to rob and kidnap. However, Yang used a knife and pointed to Ma’s wife and the maid. He also flagrantly forced Ma’s wife to buy jewelry in a shop, which showed the trio had planned the robbery carefully.
The judge said part of sentencing was aimed to be a deterrent, as kidnapping was a serious crime which put victims in a helpless and panicked situation.
The court earlier heard that Yang and two compatriots, all from Guizhou province in southwest China, entered Hong Kong illegally two days before the robbery took place.
The trio wore masks and carried knives when they entered architect Ma Kim-see’s luxury house at Bella Vista in Silver Terrace Road in Sai Kung. They trussed up Ma, his wife and a 51-year-old Filipino worker and made off with about HK$87,000 (US$11,140) in cash and jewelry.
But the thieves were not satisfied with that amount, so Yang forced Ma’s wife to go to a jewelry shop in Tseung Kwan O and buy jewelry worth HK$261,000 with her credit card and withdraw a further HK$20,000 from an ATM.
Meanwhile, Ma was held by the two other robbers in an underbrush on the roadside.
The maid, who was tied up and locked in a toilet, managed to untie herself later and called the police. Yang was arrested by Hong Kong police while his two colleagues sneaked back to China and ended up being arrested in Guizhou.
Read: Burglar pleads guilty to theft and kidnapping in Sai Kung