Nguyen

Relying upon its opinion in People v. Mai (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 117 [ 27 Cal.Rptr.2d 141 ], the Court of Appeal held that a robbery can be committed even if the victim did not possess the property that was taken by force or fear. We disapprove the decision in Mai and reverse, in part, the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the present case.

I

Around 5:30 p.m. on February 10, 1995, a number of employees were celebrating a coworker’s birthday in the lunchroom of G&G Assemblers, a computer assembly business located in Huntington Beach. Also present was Jose Jiminez, the husband of one of the employees. During the celebration, defendants Thuan Van Nguyen, Thanh Van Le, Anphong Due Nguyen, and Sokha Kong entered the lunchroom brandishing weapons, ordered the victims to lie facedown on the floor, and bound the victims’ arms and legs with plastic strips and ties.

Three of the employees testified that defendants took their money and identification. One defendant announced an intention to take identification from each of the victims so defendants would know where the victims lived, which might dissuade the victims from reporting defendants to the authorities. A fourth employee…