CRIMINAL CASE NO. 164 OF 2011
COURT: Tse Yu-yip and Fung Man-ching, you have both been convicted on your own pleas of the offence of trafficking in 2,940.78 grammes of a powder containing 2,480.64 grammes of ketamine.
Your plea, Fung Man-ching, came in the Magistrates Court and you have been committed to this court for sentence.
Your plea, Tse Yu-yip, came in this court.
The offence occurred on 26 October last year. You, Tse, were seen by the police walking along Ching Hiu Road in the early hours of the morning. You were seen to stop near a lamppost. The police officers then saw a vehicle driven by you, Fung Man-ching, drive along the road and stop just ahead of Tse. You, Tse, then handed a rucksack which contained this very large quantity of ketamine to you, Fung. The ketamine was in a total of 37 plastic bags. Its retail value at that time was over $350,000.
When you were arrested, Tse, you said you had been caught red-handed and you said nothing more.
You, Fung, admitted that the drugs had been given to you by Tse to deliver to others. You were frank enough to admit that this was the fourth time you had made a delivery of drugs and you claimed that your reward would be $400 for each delivery that you made.
Trafficking in dangerous drugs is one of the most serious of criminal offences. You both were trafficking in a very large quantity of ketamine. I have listened to all that has been said by your counsel on your behalves. I am prepared to accept that neither of you was the mastermind behind these offences. I am prepared to accept that you were simply involved in the delivery of these drugs. However, I have no doubt that both of you would have been aware that very serious consequences would follow if you were caught.
I see no reason to distinguish between you in terms of starting point and I find that the appropriate starting point in both your cases is 16 years’ imprisonment.
Insofar as you, Tse, are concerned, you have a criminal record but none of those previous offences involve trafficking in dangerous drugs, nor indeed were any of your previous offences anything like as serious as this one. I bear in mind that in your letter to the court, you have said that you wish to study during your period of imprisonment and make a fresh start on your release. I hope that is the case.
The only real mitigation in your case is your plea of guilty and, for that, you are entitled to the usual discount of one-third. I therefore sentence you to 10 years 8 months’ imprisonment.
You, Fung, are an older man of previous good character. It is clear from the letter that I have received that you are well thought of by your employer. It is also clear from the letters that you are a loving father of your two young children. It is tragic that you should have been involved in this offence which will deprive your children of your presence during much of their childhood. These, however, are factors of very limited significance when it comes to an offence as serious as that of trafficking in dangerous drugs.
The only real substantial mitigation in your case is your plea of guilty and you too are entitled to the usual discount of one-third to reflect that plea. I sentence you too to 10 years 8 months’ imprisonment.