HKSAR v. YAN SHU WING

HCCC 250/2015

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 250 OF 2015

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT: Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to the second count on the amended indictment of an offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

You have admitted that on 5 January 2014, at the 9th floor of Chung Nam Mansion, Mok Cheong Street, To Kwa Wan, you together with Wong Shing-Chi, unlawfully trafficked in 94.92 grammes of a powder and 206.82 grammes of solid, containing 210.19 grammes of cocaine.

At about 1720 hours on 5 January, police officers lawfully entered those premises. They discovered inside a black locked suitcase, the drugs as stated in the charge, in four separate plastic containers. At the time of entry into the premises, you were the only occupant inside.

Also discovered in the premises were two electronic scales, four beakers and one beaker containing one dropper and one test tube. Traces of cocaine were found on all but the electronic scales. Also discovered in the premises was a lighter, a torch, a bottle of vanilla flavouring and a paper box containing a plastic bag containing 22.86 grammes of powder, containing sodium bicarbonate and one ethanol stove.

Traces of cocaine were found on the ethanol stove. An electronic cooker and a vacuum cleaner were also seized and there were also traces of cocaine found on the vacuum cleaner. There were 167 plastic bags of drugs. The estimated street value of the drugs was approximately $292,048.

Examination of the paraphernalia and the sodium bicarbonate found inside the premises was concluded by the government chemist that these items collectively were consistent with the process of making cocaine base from cocaine hydrochloride.

At the time, you were the legal tenant of the premises. Ms Emily Cheung, your counsel, has mitigated on your behalf. I have considered her mitigation. It appears to me that, from her mitigation, your co-accused, Wong, whom you knew from a game centre, and was a drug addict, had persuaded you to rent these premises in your name.

You were a drug addict, and you owed Wong money and therefore you agreed to rent him these premises and to committing the present trafficking offence. At the time you committed this offence, the tenancy had only run for one month. You were, at the time, on public assistance, earning $3000 a month, but lived at a public housing unit in Wong Tai Sin and not at these premises.

You are 51 years old and are a divorcee. At the time of the commission of this offence, you had five previous convictions. Those were all related to drugs and were for possession of dangerous drugs. I am informed that you were addicted to heroin, but not cocaine. Since the commission of this offence, you have been convicted of three further offences. One of those being for failing to surrender to custody without reasonable cause as appointed, possession of equipment fit and intended for smoking and injecting of dangerous drugs, and possession of dangerous drugs. You have served those periods of imprisonment.

Your co-accused was tried separately from youin respect of the charge to which you pleaded guilty to. In case number HCCC 301/2014, he had pleaded not guilty to that charge, but after trial he was convicted by the jury. I have received the transcript of the sentence in respect of Wong Shing-chi and DHCJ Joseph Yau, as he then was, the judge took a starting point of 12 years and 1 month imprisonment for that same charge.

Ms Cheung has asked me to consider that term, but asked me to take as low a starting point as possible. The guidelines are set down in the case of Lau Tak-ming. For amounts of between 200 and 400 grammes, an appropriate sentence, after trial, is one between 12 and 15 years’ imprisonment. The amount of drugs that you were trafficking in was 210.19 grammes of cocaine. As DHCJ Yau noted, the Court bears in mind that sentencing is not a matter of strict mathematical calculation.

You fall within the lowest bracket of that amount and in the circumstances of this case, I consider a starting point of 12 years’ imprisonment to be appropriate. You have pleaded guilty to this charge, and in all the circumstances, the usual one-third discount is warranted and you shall therefore be sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment.

Although the facts of this case appears to show that there was certainly equipment for the manufacture of cocaine, there was no evidence that you were involved, and as is the case similar to Wong Shing-chi, this is not an aggravating factor and I have not taken that into account when sentencing you.