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HCCC 221/2015
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO 221 OF 2015
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| Date: |
24 May 2016 at 11.23 am |
| Present: |
Mr Andrew J Raffell, on fiat, for HKSAR
Ms Cindy S M Lee, instructed by Wong & Co, for the accused
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| Offence: |
Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物) |
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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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| COURT: |
The defendant pleaded guilty before me for one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs. At the small hours of 4 November 2014, the police stopped and searched the defendant in an anti-drug trafficking operation in Tsim Sha Tsui. Upon search, three resealable plastic bags were found inside the defendant’s pockets. It was later confirmed by Government Chemist that the plastic bags contained a total quantity of 50.8 grammes of ‘Ice’.
The estimated street value of the ‘Ice’ was over HK$21,000.
Under caution, the defendant said “Ah Sir, I bought the ‘Ice’, dangerous drugs, for my own consumption, give me a chance.”
The defendant now admits that whilst some of the quantity of ‘Ice’ may have been for his own consumption, the bulk of the quantity was for the purposes of trafficking.
The defendant is 42 years old at the time of his arrest, and he worked as a cargo worker. He was certified by the Hong Kong International Terminals Limited to be qualified to operate a forklift truck. He has seven previous conviction records and mostly are possession of dangerous drugs. He was admitted to the DATC in 2009 and the most recent conviction was in 2014 for possession of Part 1 Poison.
The urine test upon the defendant’s admission to Lai Chi Kok Detention Centre indicated that he was an abuser of ‘Ice’.
According to Ms Lee, counsel for the defendant, the defendant has had, altogether, three marriages, having a 16 year-old son from his first marriage and a 2-year-old daughter from his present marriage. His present wife is living in mainland China with the daughter. The defendant is thinking about divorcing his wife.
Ms Lee also told me that the defendant’s parents are in court today to support the defendant. They have written a letter to me asking for leniency, and in the letter they blamed themselves for not teaching the defendant well.
Most importantly, Ms Lee asked me to give an allowance on sentence for the fact that part of the drugs involved was for the defendant’s own consumption. Ms Lee referred me to the Court of Appeal’s decision in: HKSAR v Wong Suet Hau [2002] 1 HKLRD 69; HKSAR v Tsang Chung Keung [2015] 1 HKLRD 450; and HKSAR v Tam Ling Yuen CACC 159/2015, 11 March 2016. Ms Lee submitted that a discount of 10 per cent to 25 per cent on sentence should be accorded to the defendant for this factor.
Trafficking in dangerous drugs is a serious offence and the Court of Appeal has laid down tariffs in respect of the appropriate sentence for different kinds of drugs. In HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun [2014] 3 HKLRD 691, it was held that for trafficking in a quantity of 10 to 70 grammes of ‘Ice’ the appropriate starting point should 7 to 11 years’ imprisonment.
Applying this tariff and considering the quantity of drugs involved in the present case, the starting point for sentence should be 9 years and 6 months.
The heavy sentence for drug trafficking offences is for deterrence purposes. In the present case, I can see no valid mitigating factors apart from the defendant’s plea of guilty. However, I would accept that part of the drugs was for the defendant’s own consumption.
In the circumstances, I would give a discount of slightly more than 15 per cent on sentence, leading to a starting point of 8 years’ imprisonment. Taking into account the defendant’s guilty plea, the sentence is further reduced to 5 years and 4 months.
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