HKSAR v. TAI CHI CHEONG

DCCC 1208 /2011

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 1208 OF 2011

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REASONS FOR SENTENCE

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The defendant pleaded guilty to a charge of "Trafficking in a dangerous drug". This is a typical "stop and search" case. The dangerous drug involved is ketamine.

2.  About 7:30 pm on 15 September 2011, PC 8674 (PW1) intercepted the defendant outside Exit C, Mongkok East MTR Station for investigation.  Upon search, PW1 found a total of 15 plastic bags containing suspected dangerous drugs tucked away in his underpants.  PW1 thus arrested the defendant for the present offence.  Later on, cash in the sum of $3,890 was also found on the defendant.

3.  Under caution, the defendant admitted that it was his first time delivering "K Chai" for somebody.  He explained that he had been out of a job for a month and that he was in need of money for his 1½ -year-old son.  He therefore agreed to deliver drugs for a friend named "Ar Do" in return for a reward of $500.  The defendant claimed that he was not yet paid at the time of arrest and that the $3,890 were borrowed from a friend to pay for rent.

4.  A Government Chemist subsequently confirmed that the 15 plastic bags found on the defendant contained a total of 51.74 grammes of a powder containing 12.15 grammes of ketamine.

5.  The defendant is now 35 years old.  He has 3 previous convictions, one of which is "simple possession" dated 1994.  Defence solicitor Mr. TSE informed the court that the defendant has a stable girlfriend in the mainland and they have a 1½ -year-old boy; both of them depend on the defendant financially.  Mr. TSE submitted that at the time of the offence, the defendant was in dire financial condition and that he was in need of money because his son was sick.  Letters from the defendant, his father and his former employer have been submitted.  Their contents are duly noted.

6.  Time after time, the court has expressed in very clear terms that having a sick family member or being in financial difficulty (however serious) is no mitigating factor for committing a crime.  I cannot stress this enough.  Furthermore, a clear message must be conveyed to the general public that "drug trafficking" is a serious crime and that drug traffickers would most certainly be punished by long-term imprisonment.

7.  The sentencing tariff for trafficking in ketamine is laid down in SJ v HII Siew Cheng [2009] 1 HKLRD 1.  For 10 to 50 grammes, the sentence ranges from 4 to 6 years.

8.  A total of 12.15 grammes of ketamine are involved in this case.  Hence, I adopt a starting point of 4 years.  One-third discount is given for the guilty plea, reducing the sentence to 32 months.  Apart from this, I see no other mitigating factors which warrant any further discount.  The sentence I impose is therefore 2 years and 8 months.