HKSAR v. CHOW WING HONG

HCCC 158/2019

[2020] HKCFI 505

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 158 OF 2019

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Transcript of the Audio Recording

of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:

Mr Chow, you have pleaded guilty before the Eastern Magistrates’ Court on 14 May of 2019 to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap 134, in that you accepted that you had trafficked in 326.54 grammes of cocaine on 19 June of 2018. That was when you were intercepted whilst inside your vehicle parked in the public car park of the Jockey Club in Sheung Shui. That vehicle was searched and secreted within it was an electronic scale and several bags containing cocaine. A further search of the vehicle found more cocaine in another compartment and some underneath the steering wheel. The total amount, as I have said, was 326.54 grammes.

The estimated street value of those drugs in July of 2016 was $380,505.50. As is your right, you said nothing on arrest or in the interview. There is therefore no explanation on the court record of the facts to mitigate what would appear to be a professional drug operation being run out of a vehicle which you should not have been able to afford given your criminal history.

You are now 32 years of age and a resident of Hong Kong. You were single at the time of your arrest and lived with your parents and your brother. You were employed, I had understood, in transportation but I am now told working in a bar earning $15,000 a month. Unfortunately, you have a criminal record dating back to 2003, when you were just 15 years of age, and that was for trafficking in dangerous drugs. You received a probation order of 18 months for that offence but during the period of that order you were before the court again for being a member of a triad society and you received a further probation order, which you then breached. As a result, you received Drug Addiction Training Centre. In 2006, at 19 years of age, you were convicted of possession of dangerous drugs and you received a further period of detention under DATC. That clearly did not work, although it took four years before you were before the court again for possession and also for assaulting a police officer. For that you received 2 months’ imprisonment. Your first time in prison, I note. DATC and prison had no effect upon you at all because you were before the courts again in 2010 for possession, at which time you received 6 months’ imprisonment, and you were before the courts in 2013 for fraud when you received a total of 13 months’ imprisonment. After your release you committed the offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs once more. In 2015, for that offence, assaulting a police officer and dangerous driving, you were given a period of imprisonment of 50 months. I have now been told by Mr Leung that you were released on 27 September 2017 but it is quite clear that this offending started to take place, from what I have heard, shortly after your release.

You have a total disrespect for the law. None of the previous sentences have acted as a deterrent.

The guideline authority for the sentencing of trafficking in cocaine is R v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370. The starting point after trial for between 200 and 400 grammes is 12 to 15 years’ imprisonment. For 326.54 grammes, the starting point after trial I am going to adopt is 14 years. There is also the aggravating factor which I have already mentioned of your persistent offending and your ongoing relationship with dangerous drugs. The facts of this case show that you were in the business of dealing in drugs, but this is a one‑off matter for which you are to be sentenced. You, Mr Chow, are a danger to the public. I will sentence you for this single offence but I intend to enhance that sentence by a further year for the aggravating factor of your criminal record. That makes a total of 15 years’ imprisonment.

Miss Lai has been at great pains to mitigate on your behalf and I have taken into account everything that she has said and I have read on your behalf, especially the circumstances of the offending and your actions to date. You are of course entitled to a full one-third discount in any event for plea at the earliest opportunity, for which you are to be commended. For everything else that has been said on your behalf, I believe a sentence of 9 years after the deduction of the appropriate discount is correct. So you will go to prison for 9 years.