CRIMINAL CASE NO. 222 OF 2012
The defendant pleaded guilty at the Eastern Magistrates’ Court to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to sections 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134. He was committed to this court for sentence. This morning, the defendant confirmed his plea and his acceptance of the Summary of Facts.
Briefly, the defendant was stopped and searched by Customs officers on 2 February 2012 after he had passed through the green channel of the Customs Arrival Hall at the Border Control Point. As a result of the search, a plastic bag containing 0.26 kilogramme of methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as "Ice", was found hidden at the back of the defendant’s waist. When asked, the defendant replied that it was "Ice". During a subsequent interview, the defendant further admitted that he was to deliver the drug to somebody.
The defendant’s movement record showed that he had left Hong Kong for the Mainland shortly after midnight on 1 February 2012. He had just returned to Hong Kong when he was intercepted at the Border Control Point.
The drug had an estimated street value of about HK$209,000.
Mitigation
The defendant is aged 21, single, and was born in Hong Kong. He has received education up to lower secondary level and was unemployed at the time of his arrest.
The defendant has had two previous convictions, that is possession of a dangerous drug and offering for sale infringing copies of copyright work. He was put on probation on both occasions.
In mitigation, it was said that the defendant simply committed the present offence because of his foolishness. He was taking the drug for a friend, without reward, and the way he carried the drug was unsophisticated, just hiding it around his waist. Mr Andrews submitted that the defendant should be treated more leniently than a professional courier who brought in the drug for a reward.
Mr Andrews also put before the court letters written by the defendant’s mother and his social workers. All of them described the defendant as a simple-minded person who is easily taken advantage of by others. Mr Andrews also submitted that owing to the defendant’s misguided obligation towards his friend, he is prepared to shoulder all the responsibility without revealing any of his friend’s particulars to anybody.
The Sentence
The tariffs for trafficking in "Ice" were laid down in AG v Ching Kwok Hung [1991] 2 HKLR 125 and corrected in HKSAR v Capitania, CACC28/2004, unreported. For trafficking between 70 and 300 grammes of "Ice", a term of 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment is called for.
Having considered the amount of "Ice" involved, the facts of this case and the defendant’s background, I am going to adopt an initial starting point of 12½ years. However, as the defendant had brought the "Ice" into Hong Kong from the Mainland, I would make an upward adjustment of 6 months to reflect this international dimension, thus increasing the starting point to one of 13 years.
The defendant pleaded guilty and he would receive a one-third reduction for that. The defendant’s relatively young age is of no assistance to him as drug trafficking is a very serious offence. Although Mr Andrews said that the defendant made full admissions at the time, it is well settled that the one-third reduction is the high-water mark for a guilty plea, including such an admission.
Therefore, other than the defendant’s plea, there is nothing in this case which would warrant any further reduction in sentence. The defendant is therefore to serve a term of 104 months’ imprisonment for this offence.