HKSAR v. WONG HOI PAT

DCCC1425/2009

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONGSPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1425 OF 2009

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

2.  You have admitted that on 13 November 2009, at Sau Mau Ping, Lok Wah South Estate, On Wah House, you unlawfully trafficked in 66.05 grammes of a powder containing 42.48 grammes of ketamine. Those premises were your home which you shared with your grandmother. At about 1815 hours, on 13 November, police officers spotted you coming out from your flat. They intercepted you and executed a search warrant to conduct a search inside your home. Inside the drawer in your bedroom a plastic bag containing, ketamine, was found. Also found was a digital scale and three piles of transparent resealable plastic bags.

3.  A further search was conducted in the kitchen, and four plastic bags containing ketamine, were found inside a plastic rice container. These five plastic bags contained roughly 12 or 13 grammes of powder containing ketamine in the amounts between 7.83 grammes to 8.82 grammes. The total amount of the drugs was 66.05 grammes of a powder containing 42.48 grammes of ketamine.

4.  Mr Tse, your counsel, has mitigated on your behalf today. I have taken into account everything he has had to say. I have also received three letters addressed to myself from yourself, your mother and your employer. I have taken the contents of those letters also into account.

5.  You are aged 23 and have three previous convictions. Two convictions are for possession of dangerous drugs, and the other conviction is assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Mr Tse has rightly pointed out that the greatest mitigating factor in this case for you is, of course, your plea of guilty. You, of course, now realise the damage caused to yourself, your family and society in trafficking in drugs. You are deeply remorseful and are saddened to have disappointed those closest to you, particularly your elderly grandmother aged 81.

6.  Your employer speaks highly of you and promises to employ you after your release from custody. Your mother has blamed herself for not taking a better care of you, supervised you and given you good guidance. You are aged 23 now and, although your family have good support on you, you are old enough to understand the seriousness of this offence.

7.  This is not your first brush with the law. You have had three previous convictions for which you were dealt with leniently and given a chance. The last one clearly, which was your second conviction for possession of dangerous drugs, you were given a suspended sentence of imprisonment. That was obviously and clearly explained to you, that if you committed another offence again you will go to prison. Despite that hanging over your head you went on to commit this offence, and indeed a very, very serious offence. Mr Tse has rightly pointed out and has informed me that you acknowledge that for this offence and the quantity involved you will be receiving a lengthy jail term.

8.  The Court of Appeal laid down clear guidelines for the court to follow in sentencing defendants for trafficking in ketamine, and that was in the case of Secretary of Justice v Hii Siew Cheng, CAAR7/2006 and HKSAR v Wong Yat San, CACC126/2007. In following those guidelines I pass the following sentence upon you. Please stand up.

9.  The amount of drugs that you had trafficked in falls in the third bracket of between 10 to 50 grammes. That is a term of imprisonment between 4 to 6 years’ imprisonment as a starting point after trial. You fall in the upper bracket of that amount. I take the starting point of 5 years' imprisonment and give you full credit for your plea of guilty, and reduce that term to 3 years and 4 months' imprisonment.

10.  You have committed this offence during the period of suspension of your last conviction, that is in KT868/2009. I therefore activate the 3 months’ imprisonment of that case, and that 3 months is to be served consecutively to the present term, making a total of 3 years 7 months’ imprisonment. You are so sentenced.