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HCCC402/2010
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 402 OF 2010
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HKSAR |
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Cheung Ka-chun |
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| Before: |
The Honourable Mr Justice Line |
| Date: |
7 January 2011 at 9.39 am |
| Present: |
Mr Harish Melwaney, Senior Public Prosecutor of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Ms Carol Fung Sheung-kit, instructed by Messrs Ho & Ip, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Accused |
| 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: I have to sentence you for trafficking in a dangerous drug. The drug was ketamine, and you were caught carrying 756 grammes of it.
It will have been explained to you that sentencing for trafficking in dangerous drugs here in Hong Kong follows guidelines. The guidelines are based on the nature of the drug and the quantity of it.
You fall in the category between 600 to 1,000 grammes, attracting a starting point, after trial, of 12 to 14 years’ imprisonment.
You pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, and I will give you the full one-third discount.
You will appreciate that there are many cases like yours before the courts, and the courts therefore have to be consistent in their approach to sentencing. Unless there is something exceptional, you cannot expect the guidelines to be departed from.
There is nothing exceptional in your case.
Accordingly, I shall take a starting point of 12½ years’ imprisonment, and, giving you the one-third discount, that results in a sentence of 8 years and 4 months, and that is the sentence I pass upon you.
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