HKSAR v. CHENG HUNG SUN

HCCC 175/2016

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 175 OF 2016

-----------------

-----------------

---------------------------------

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

---------------------------------

COURT:

The defendant has been convicted on his own plea of one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The particulars of offence provide that on the 3rd day of December 2015, at Silvercord, No 30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, in Hong Kong, the defendant unlawfully trafficked in a dangerous drug, namely 282 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 26.3 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as the ‘Ice’ drug.

The Summary of Facts admitted by the defendant, inter alia, provides that acting on information, police officers conducted an anti-narcotics operation at the address stated in the indictment on 3 December 2015. At 8.25 pm on that day, the defendant appeared and was seen acting suspiciously outside an amusement game centre at Shop B03, Silvercord. He was seen intending to enter the centre but suddenly turned around.

He was intercepted for an inquiry. Upon a body search, a plastic bag containing suspected ‘Ice’ was found between his right front waist and his jeans. The defendant remained silent after being cautioned for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug. A search of the defendant’s residence at a public estate in Yau Tong found nothing illegal.

The suspected ‘Ice’ was later confirmed to be 282 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 26.3 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride. At the time of seizure, it had an estimated value of HK$84,882.

The defendant now admits and accepts that at the material time, he was unlawfully trafficking in the ‘Ice’ seized.

By way of background, the defendant is 58 years of age. He was born in China in 1959. The defendant has received education up to secondary level in China. Prior to his arrest, the defendant worked as a temporary scaffolding worker at a daily wage of $1,100 and he worked about 15 days each month. The defendant used to live at a public housing unit with his wife and daughter.

The defendant has 12 previous criminal convictions, five of which were for possession of dangerous drug.

By way of mitigation, Mr Lewis Chan, on behalf of the defendant, urged upon me to take into account his guilty plea. Mr Chan further told me that the defendant’s daughter is now 17 years old. Her intended university education required a considerable amount of money, therefore, the defendant committed the present offence in order to make money to support his daughter’s tuition fees.

A mitigation letter from the chaplain of the Christian Prison Pastoral Association Limited has been submitted to the court, the content of which has been noted. However, as has been held by the courts on many previous occasions, personal and family circumstances of the defendant would count much less in drug trafficking cases than in others because drug trafficking offences demand, as a matter of public protection, deterrence as the overwhelming consideration.

The defendant has been convicted of one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The narcotic content of the ‘Ice’ drug involved is 26.3 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride. The tariffs for trafficking in the ‘Ice’ drug have been set out by the Court of Appeal in the case of HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun [2014] 3 HKLRD 691. In that case, the Court of Appeal held that for trafficking in between 10 and 70 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, the proper sentence to be imposed after trial should be 7 to 11 years’ imprisonment.

In my view, having regard to all the circumstances and taking into account in particular the quantity of the ‘Ice’ drug involved, the appropriate starting point for sentence in the present case should be 8 years’ imprisonment.

I shall give the defendant the full one-third discount for his guilty plea.

The defendant is accordingly sentenced to 5 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.