HKSAR v. CHONG CHUNG HING

DCCC 615/2014

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 615 OF 2014

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of "Trafficking in a dangerous drug". The dangerous drug involved is ketamine.

Summary of Facts

2.  About 1:40 pm on 11 May 2014, PC 58839 saw the defendant entering a fast food restaurant situated at Sau Mau Ping Shopping Centre, Kowloon.  He intercepted the defendant to conduct a search.

3.  Upon search, the following items were found in the defendant's right trouser pocket :-

(i) 1 transparent resealable plastic bag containing another transparent resealable plastic bag which contained ketamine (collectively E1); and

(ii) 3 transparent resealable plastic bags, each containing 2 transparent resealable plastic bags which contained ketamine (collectively E2).

E1 and E2 were found to contain a total of 93.94 grammes of a powder containing 76.93 grammes of ketamine.

4.  Under caution, the defendant said "Ah Sir, I bought these K Chai for my own fun and relieving pressure.  Give me a chance." 

5.  In his video recorded interview, the defendant admitted, inter alia, that he would consume ketamine 2 to 3 times a day by nasal inhalation.  He claimed that the ketamine found on him was for self-consumption, but he would share the ketamine with friends in order to get back some money.

Mitigation & Sentence

6.  The defendant is now 31 and has 1 conviction record, which is also "trafficking" (he was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months' imprisonment in February 2009).  In March 2013, the defendant was involved in a "Theft" case and was ordered to be detained in Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre for 3 months.  He was discharged in June 2013.

7.  In December 2013, the defendant began to reside at a half-way hostel.  As revealed in the letter from the hostel, from February to April 2014, the defendant worked at McDonald's, PARKnSHOP and Dah Chong Hong as a kitchen worker and a warehouse attendant respectively.

8.  Defence counsel Mr. KWAN informed me that the defendant's mother deserted the family when the defendant was young.  His father retired over 10 years ago and resides in the mainland.  The defendant lives alone in Hong Kong.

9.  In mitigation, Mr. KWAN submitted that a few weeks prior to the present offence, the defendant re-encountered friends from prison.  He was offered some ketamine.  The defendant purchased the ketamine at a low price.  He intended to retain one-third of the drug for self-consumption and to sell two-thirds to his friends at cost, without making any profit.

10.  A clear message must be conveyed to the general public that "drug trafficking" is a serious crime and that drug traffickers would most certainly be punished by long-term imprisonment even for fresh offenders.

11.  The Court of Appeal has laid down clear sentencing guidelines for trafficking in ketamine (see  SJ v HII Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD 1).  For 50 to 300 grammes, the sentence ranges from 6 to 9 years' imprisonment.

12.  The defendant trafficked in 76.93 grammes of ketamine.  For that quantity, the appropriate starting point is 75 months' imprisonment. I make it clear that I did not raise the starting point despite the fact that this is his 2^nd conviction of "drug trafficking".

13.  Regarding the claim for self-consumption, I have reminded myself of the relevant sentencing principles.[1] Since the prosecution accepts the defendant's claim that one-third of the drug was intended for his own consumption, I am prepared to reduce the sentence to 66 months[2] to reflect the discount for self-consumption.

14.  Finally, a one-third discount is given for the guilty plea, reducing the sentence further to 44 months.   I hereby sentence the defendant to 44 months' imprisonment.