HKSAR v. CHONG SIU CHUNG

DCCC337/2010

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 337 OF 2010

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Chong Siu-chung, you have been convicted on your own plea of trafficking in 3.2 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 3.17 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.

2.  The drugs in question were found in your pocket when police searched you on the afternoon of 5 May last year outside Tsz On Court in Tsz Wan Shan.

3.  At the time of your arrest you admitted that you were a trafficker in “Ice”.  In another of your pockets the police found what appeared to be records of your drug selling activity.

4.  When the police searched your home they found a bag of empty resealable plastic bags and two electronic scales. 

5.  You claimed to have bought the drugs that were found on you for $1,800 and you said that you intended to divide those drugs into 10 packets which you would sell for $300 each.

6.  You must have known when you committed this offence that drug trafficking is a very serious offence and that severe consequences would follow if you were apprehended.  As I am sure you are now aware, the usual starting point for those who traffic in up to 12 grammes of “Ice” is a sentence of between 3 and 7 years’ imprisonment.

7.  Bearing in mind the quantity of drugs in your case and the fact that this is your first drug-related conviction, I am prepared to adopt a starting point at the bottom of that tariff band, namely 3 years’ imprisonment.

8.  At the time of this offence it appears you were earning a good salary.  It is no mitigation to claim that you were trafficking in order to feed your own addiction.

9.  The only real mitigation in this case is your plea of guilty, for which you are entitled to the usual discount of one-third.

10.  I accordingly sentence you to 2 years’ imprisonment.