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HCCC272/2008
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 272 OF 2008
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Before: Deputy High Court Judge Line
Date: 16 January 2009 at 9.44 am
Present: Ms Christal Chan, SPP, of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr John Patrick Marray, instructed by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Accused
Offence: Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物)
Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above case
COURT: I have to sentence you for trafficking in a dangerous drug. The drug in question was “Ice” and you were selling 12.94 grammes of it. You were doing so for reward. You sold to an undercover policeman. The value of the drug was $7,833.
You will have been told that the sentencing for such offences is based on guidelines, which are based on the nature of the drug and the quantity of it. You fall in the category of between 10 and 70 grammes, attracting a starting point for sentence of 7 to 10 years. So you are at the bottom of the bracket.
You earn a third discount for your plea of guilty. That is the same discount whether you plead guilty, like you did, right at the outset of the criminal proceedings, or at the door of the court with a jury waiting.
If you had had a clear record, without hesitation, I would have taken a starting point at the very bottom of the bracket, of 7 years. You have been before the court though on two occasions in 2007, for both the possession of and trafficking in dangerous drugs. You were sent to DATC. You were released in March. You committed this offence in June. Does that background justify me in increasing the starting point is the question I have to ask myself in your case. Should it be a starting point of, say, 7½ years rather than the 7?
I am told that the trafficking for which you were sentenced in November of 2007 was on the basis that you were going to share some drugs with a friend. Since the disposal was DATC, I am minded to accept that assertion. If it had been trafficking of a nature similar to that with which we are now involved, I would have increased the starting point.
In the circumstances, where I accept the assertion, I shall stick to a starting point at the bottom of the bracket, which is 7 years. If I apply the one-third discount, it means there is a sentence of 4 years and 8 months’ imprisonment. In the circumstances, you could have hoped for no less.
Court rises - 9.48 am
16 January 2009
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