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HCCC 220/2017
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO 220 OF 2017
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| Date: |
4 September 2017 at 10.47 am |
| Present: |
Mr Andrew Cheng, SPP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Wong Po-wing, instructed by Eli K K Tsui & 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 in the Magistrates Court to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 13.4 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 13.2 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride.
The facts show that at about 9.50 pm on 20 December, the defendant was outside a shopping arcade in Tin Shui Wai and upon being stopped and searched, the drug the subject matter of the charge was found in a case in her left hand. The defendant was arrested and cautioned and under caution, she admitted that she was delivering the drug to earn money to support her baby.
Also found on her person were two mobile telephones, cash HK$5,600 and 557 renminbi.
She said subsequently, under caution in a video-recorded interview, that she was waiting for a phone call giving her instructions as to where to deliver the drugs when she was arrested.
The drug has an estimated retail value of HK$4,476.
The defendant has a clear record and is aged 24. Mr Wong, in mitigation, submitted that the defendant was trying to earn money to support her baby who is now 5 years old. She was also misled by a man she had met who introduced her to this nefarious activity. I am informed that the baby is now being taken care of by the defendant’s mother and that the defendant now has a new boyfriend who is a mobile phone repairer and financially supporting her.
Hopefully, the defendant will keep to the promise she has made in her letter to the court about being remorseful and going to better herself in the future because to go on in the way she has done would be a very bad example for the little baby that she has.
As Mr Wong correctly pointed out, the Court of Appeal has recommended, in the case of Tam Yi Chun in 2014, that the sentence for trafficking in between 10 to 70 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride would reasonably anticipate a sentence of 7 to 11 years’ imprisonment as a starting point.
The defendant in this case was found trafficking in 13.2 grammes which I consider therefore a starting point of 7 years’ imprisonment would be appropriate.
Reducing that by the full one-third discount, the defendant is sentenced to 4 years and 8 months.
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