HKSAR v.CHAU LEONG WA

DCCC418/2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 418 OF 2011

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Defendant, I have convicted you after trial of a charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap.134.

2.  I found that on 27 February 2011, at the junction of Tsing Chau Street and Ma Tau Wai Road, Hung Hom, in Kowloon, in Hong Kong, you unlawfully trafficked in a dangerous drug, namely 54.12 grammes of a powder containing 43.03 grammes of ketamine.

3.  On 27 February at about 1.28 am you were stopped by a police officer and searched.  In each of your socks the drugs were found.  In your left sock, 27.45 grammes of a powder containing 21.84 grammes of ketamine were found in two plastic bags, whilst in your right sock 26.67 grammes of a powder containing 21.19 grammes of ketamine were found in two plastic bags.

4.  You said under caution that the K Chai was for your own consumption.  You maintained your case that the drugs were for your own consumption at the trial and during the trial I rejected your evidence and found that they were in your possession for the purposes of unlawful trafficking.

5.  You are aged 30 and have eight previous convictions, all of which relate to drugs.  Seven relate to possession of dangerous drugs.  You have been sentenced to DATC on five previous occasions as well as on one occasion a term of imprisonment of 12 weeks.  You are single, and live with your father.  Your mother passed away in 2006.

6.  You have written a letter to me expressing your remorse and your regret in wasting 10-odd years of your life in taking drugs. You are determined to turn over a new leaf when you are released from prison. I sincerely hope that that is a genuine plea.

7.  Most worrying is I hear is that you were a truck driver and dependent on drugs.  As you know, that is extremely dangerous, not only for yourself but, more crucially, for other road users.  Given that you are a drug dependent, you should stay far away from this type of employment.

8.  As your counsel, Mr Boyton, rightly points out, the guidelines for trafficking in ketamine are laid out in Hii Siew Cheng. 

9.  You had trafficked in 43.03 grammes of ketamine, I convicted you after trial, defendant, and the starting point that I would take for that amount of drugs is 5 years and 6 months’ imprisonment, to which you are so sentenced.