CRIMINAL CASE NO. 309 OF 2010
COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty today to one charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134. The drug was 665.32 grammes of a mixture containing 449.02 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and 61.94 grammes of monoacetyhmorphine hydrochloide, the total narcotic quantity being 551.96 grammes.
The facts admitted by the defendant show that she was selected for customs clearance on her arrival at Hong Kong International Airport after a flight from Kuala Lumpur. 12 pellets of suspected dangerous drug wrapped in plastic were found rolled in the waistband of a pair of pants in her suitcase. The defendant was arrested and cautioned.
Later, a personal search was done and a condom containing suspected dangerous drugs was removed from her vagina. An x-ray was done at the hospital and foreign objects were detected in her lower abdomen. Subsequently the defendant was admitted to hospital and discharged 36 pellets of suspected dangerous drugs.
Later, in an interview with police, the defendant admitted that she bought all the dangerous drugs for US$3,500 from a man in Malaysia. She put the larger packet into her vagina, swallowed some and put the balance in the waistband of the pants which she put in the suitcase. Her intention was to sell the dangerous drugs in Uganda, which is her home country, but she said she had no idea how much they would sell for. The dangerous drugs had an estimated retail value in Hong Kong of $445,764.
The defendant has one previous record in Hong Kong of failing to surrender to custody without reasonable cause, as appointed. She was fined for that offence. I am advised that there are no charges outstanding in respect of that incident, which has now been dealt with. She has no record of any drug offences.
In mitigation, I was advised that the defendant came from Uganda. She came from a family which was in poor circumstances and she decided to try and earn money to assist the family. She worked at a restaurant in China for some months. When that folded, she found that her own trading business was insufficient to provide her with any money for her family in a sufficient quantity to be meaningful and, accordingly, she became involved in this scheme to sell the dangerous drugs in Uganda.
I am advised that she used her own money to buy the drugs but she was not part of a syndicate. She gave indication of her plea at an early stage and she seeks leniency, both through her counsel and through a letter that she has produced to the court.
Under the Lau Tak Ming guidelines (The Queen v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370) the sentence for this quantity of narcotic is in the range of 15 to 20 years. That is for 400 to 600 grammes. There is also the consideration that the court must take into account the importation element. However, on the basis of Abdallah, HKSAR v Abdallah [2009] 2 HKLRD 437, the minimum quantity that should be enhanced is 2 years but that applies to quantities that are greatly in excess of 600 grammes.
In this particular case I take a starting point of 15 years. I enhance that sentence by 9 months to take into account the importation factor. I give the full discount and sentence the defendant to 10 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.