Shane Davies was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after planning a burglary on a family home, having seen a social media post advertising that the occupants would be out at a celebration. The family, who run a Chinese restaurant in Swansea, lost tens of thousands of pounds in cash and items of huge sentimental value in the raid.
Burglary during Chinese New Year celebration
The court heard that in the run-up to Chinese New Year in February this year, the victims used social media to advertise a celebration they were holding at their restaurant on February 18. When the family returned to their home in Llangyfelach, Swansea, after the event, they found a window had been forced open and the property ransacked.
Prosecuting, Ryan Bowen told the court that a safe had been stolen containing £48,000 in cash and a series of red envelopes set aside for staff at the restaurant. Other items taken included two Rolex watches, jewellery of sentimental value, a set of collectable coins, a silver bowl and chopsticks given to commemorate a birth, Hong Kong and Chinese identity documents and currency, and a designer handbag worth £1,000.
Arrest and evidence
The burglary was reported to police, and officers carried out a search of CCTV footage in the area. Those inquiries led to the identification of a suspect car and then to the identity of the defendant. On February 22, officers attended Davies' home in Neath and arrested him. A search of the property turned up one of the missing watches along with the coin collection.
When Davies' phone was examined, officers found screengrabs of some of the social media posts the victims had made advertising the celebrations. The prosecutor said there was an element of planning in the burglary, as demonstrated by the images found on Davies' phone, and given the nature of the entry to the property, the defendant had likely gone equipped.
Victim impact and sentencing
In a statement read to the court, the victims said the burglary had affected "almost every aspect" of their lives. They said their sense of peace and security had been stolen, they felt "vulnerable and violated", and their young son had been left frightened and worried.
Davies, of Fair View, Waunceirch, Neath, had previously pleaded guilty to burglary. He has 10 previous convictions for 19 offences between 1998 and 2016. His barrister, Hannah George, said the pre-sentence report detailed the defendant's "turbulent upbringing" and childhood trauma, and said he had previously been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. She said Davies had since "taken a grip" of his own mental health and had sought help.
The barrister added that Davies wished to apologise to the victims and would be willing to engage in restorative justice – a victim-led process where defendant and victim meet – if the family were so minded. Judge Catherine Richards described the offending as "mean and callous", noting it was carried out at a time of great cultural importance to the victims. With a 15% discount for his guilty plea, Davies was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation requirement.
