HKSAR v. LEUNG CHO HIN

HCCC 313/2017

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 313 OF 2017

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty before a magistrate to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug and was committed to the Court of First Instance for sentence. In sentencing, I have considered the whole circumstances of the case including its nature and facts in particular the type and quantity of the dangerous drugs involved, background of the defendant and mitigation put forward on his behalf.

The facts of the case may be summarised as follows.

The defendant was stopped by the police on a street. Two plastic bags containing cocaine were found in his jacket pocket. Upon arrest, he said under caution that he needed to repay his father’s gambling debt and therefore help others to deliver “Coke” to earn money. In a subsequent interview, he gave further details and said he was promised a reward of $1,000.

The defendant is 19 years of age at the time of the offence. He has received education up to Form 3 and was working as a casual vehicle attendant. He was living with his grandfather at a public housing estate flat. The defendant is not a first time offender but this was the first time he has committed an offence relating to dangerous drugs. He has two previous convictions involving the offence of AOABH and possession of dutiable goods for which a probation order and a fine was imposed respectively.

In mitigation, learned defence counsel, Mr Fung, urged the court to take into account that the defendant had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and he is now in full remorse. Mr Fung also informed the court that the defendant had actively participated in voluntary work and a social work confirmed that the defendant is a responsible person and his performance was outstanding. The defence also produced a letter of the defendant in which he expressed remorse and said he is determined to turn over a new leaf. The family of the defendant including his 90 years old grandfather is in court to support the defendant.

Mr Fung urged the court to accept that the defendant committed the offence in order to repay the gambling debt of his father. He submitted that the defendant is unlikely to reoffend and urged the court to be as lenient as possible in particular as the defendant has the support of his family, social workers and pastors.

In AG v Pedro Neil Rojas [1994] 2 HKCLR 69, it was held that the guidelines for sentence in R v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370 are applicable to cases of trafficking in cocaine. The quantity of dangerous drugs involved was 47.8 grammes of a solid containing 46.1 grammes of cocaine. In Lau Tak Ming, the Court of Appeal held that if the narcotic content of the heroin being trafficked in was between 10 to 50 grammes, a sentence of 5 to 8 years should be considered.

In all the circumstances of the present case, I do not consider there are any reasons to justify departure from the tariff. Having considered the whole of the relevant circumstances and mitigation of Mr Fung. The starting point I adopt is 7½ years. The defendant pleaded guilty, he is entitled to a one-third discount for this reason. In all the circumstances including mitigation, the assertion that defendant was earning money to pay off his father’s debt which I accept and the defendant is relatively young but already an adult when he committed the offence. In my judgment, one-third is the extent of discount the defendant is entitled to.

For these reasons, I sentence you to an immediate imprisonment term of 5 years.