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| The burglary was committed in a bar in Lan Kwai Fong |
A Filipino who forced his way into a bar in Lan Kwai Fong, Central and stole money and liquor worth $6,030 has been sentenced to 19 months in jail.
Ricardo D. Miranda, 45, was meted the penalty by District Court
Judge Kathie Cheung on Monday (Oct. 24) despite compensating the bar owner $6,530
and pleading guilty to the robbery, committed in the early morning of Nov. 21,
2020.
“There is a well settled sentencing guideline for burglary
of non-domestic premises,“ Judge Cheung said, and that is 30 months in prison.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Because Miranda was caught on CCTV to have entered the bar with another man, who was not prosecuted in this case, she added three months to his sentence.
“It is well established that commission of the offence by more
than 1 offender is an aggravating feature,” she added, in a decision handed
down at West Kowloon Courts.
Judge Cheung deducted a third from the total sentence because Miranda
pleaded guilty, and deducted another three months because he returned what he
stole, plus $500 -- leaving a final sentence of 19 months.
The case arose after the owner of the Mehfil bar on Lan Kwai
Fong, Central, discovered that it had been broken into on Nov. 21, 2020.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Missing from the premises were eight bottles of liquor worth
$4,330, one tips box containing $100 and $1,600 in cash.
A review of CCTV footage showed three men loitering near the
bar at 3:30 am. Seven minutes later, one of them approached the bar’s door and made
“hand movements” on the padlock.
He turned around, crossed the street and, after six minutes,
returned and entered the bar. He was followed a minute later by another man.
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| Press for details |
Both men were seen leaving the bar at 5:38 am, with the one wearing
a red t-shirt holding a stuffed plastic bag.
When shown the CCTV footage, the bar owner recognized the
one in the red t-shirt as Miranda, who worked at the bar from 2017 and left in December
2019 after being accused of stealing.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
When arrested, Miranda admitted that he was the person seen
on CCTV and the two other men seen with him were his friends. A search of his house
also yielded the red t-shirt he was seen wearing in the CCTV footage.
His lawyer said that when he entered the bar, Miranda was
drunk and his original intention was to cause inconvenience to his ex-employer
by messing up the bar.
