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HCCC 268/2013
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO 268 OF 2013
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HKSAR |
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Mkwawila Salum Muhibu |
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| Before: |
Deputy High Court Judge Stuart-Moore |
| Date: |
12 August 2013 at 9.47 am |
| Present: |
Mr Bobby Cheung, SPP(Ag) of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR |
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Mr Peter Cahill, instructed by Kevin Ng & Co, for the defendant |
| Offence: |
Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物) |
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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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COURT: On 28 June this year, the defendant, who is now aged 35, pleaded guilty in the Magistrates’ Court to trafficking in a mixture containing 550 grammes of heroin hydrochloride. He has confirmed his plea in these proceedings, and has accepted the Summary of Facts also.
The defendant was intercepted at the airport on 25 November last year on arrival from Kenya. His baggage contained nothing which was illegal, but he was suspected to have concealed drugs inside his body. He was sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where in due course he discharged a total of 77 pellets weighing nearly a kilo in total.
The estimated street value of the heroin is $870,000.
Although the defendant said nothing in interview, it is submitted in mitigation that the reason that the defendant fell to temptation was that he lived in poverty in his own country.
The defendant will have been well aware of the risk of being caught, quite apart from the danger to his own health by swallowing this quantity of heroin.
The sentencing guidelines for heroin are set out in R v Lau Tak Ming and Others [1990] 2 HKLR 370. For an amount of between 400 and 600 grammes, the recommended tariff is between 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment. In addition, where international trafficking is involved, it is well established that there should be some enhancement of the sentence to reflect this aggravating factor.
Accordingly, I shall take, under the guidelines, a starting point of 19 years, and enhance this by a further year to take into account the element of importation.
Yes, would you stand, please? You have pleaded guilty in good time, and you will receive the full benefit of doing so.
Your sentence is one of 13 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.
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