COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty at committal on 26 July 2013 to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The dangerous drug was 11.90 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 11.57 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly referred to as “Ice”.
In this court the defendant confirmed his plea of guilty and confirmed also the facts that he admitted at committal. Those facts show that police officers, who were conducting an anti-dangerous drug operation, knocked on the door of a flat in order to execute a search warrant. The defendant answered the door, police revealed their identities and entered the premises. There was no one else inside apart from the defendant.
On a table in the living room an electronic scale, a plastic spoon and a plastic bag containing five empty resealable plastic bags were found. From the freezer of the refrigerator in the living room was found a transparent plastic box containing five packets of suspected “Ice”.
The defendant was arrested and cautioned and admitted that he would sell the “Ice” in the refrigerator to his friends to make money.
In a subsequent cautioned video interview which was recorded, the defendant said that the “Ice” in the refrigerator was sold to him by a man on the afternoon of 20 March 2013 for $3,000. He took the “Ice” home and repackaged it into five packets before placing them in the refrigerator. He says he would go to the parks in Yau Ma Tei to see if he could find friends who wanted “Ice” and would then sell the “Ice” to them. He told police he was unemployed.
Subsequent analysis by the Government Chemist confirmed the quantity and the nature of the drug as set out in the particulars of the charge. The estimated street value of the seized drug was $9,460.
The defendant has a lengthy and unattractive record which starts in 1974. There were 31 items listed on the record covering 38 charges. Amongst the offences recorded are four convictions for possession of dangerous drugs and three convictions for trafficking. His first conviction for possession of dangerous drugs was in 1994 followed by convictions in 1995, 2001 and 2005.
Much graver were the trafficking convictions. The first one, in 2005, resulted in a 14‑month sentence of imprisonment. The other two trafficking convictions in 2007 were dealt with in the High Court and attracted sentences of 7 years 7 months and 10 years 6 months. Those sentences were adjusted for plea and totality so that the final sentence was 7 years 8 months.
The antecedent statement of the defendant showed that he was aged 62; his date of birth was 18 July 1951. He was educated to P2 level in China. He came to Hong Kong in 1972. His wife and 23-year-old son live in Guangzhou.
The defendant was unemployed at the time he was arrested. His previous occupation had been as a carpenter. He claimed to be a drug abuser to the police and this was borne out by his record and also the three DATC orders that appear on the record.
In mitigation counsel stated correctly that the plea of guilty was the greatest mitigation in the defendant’s favour. He had been released from prison in March 2012 after serving for his sentence in trafficking offences and this offence was committed a year later. The reason, although not the excuse, for that re‑offending, was the fact that he was unable to secure employment because of his age and because he is not physically fit.
I was also told that the defendant’s very elderly mother suffered from kidney failure and needed an operation. The defendant had been asked to contribute to the cost of the operation. As he had no other resources he relapsed into trafficking. I was told that his family is still supportive and his son, his mother and his wife ask for leniency.
The guidelines for sentencing in “Ice” offences are set out in Attorney General v Ching Kwok Hung [1991] 2 HKLR 125. The narcotic quantity of the drug in this case is 11.57 grammes. 10 to 70 grammes of narcotic attracts a sentence in the range of 7 to 10 years’ imprisonment. The only relevant mitigation is the defendant’s plea of guilty and from his record he knew full well what he was doing when he entered into this latest trafficking venture.
I take a starting point of 8 years’ imprisonment, give the defendant the full one-third discount, and sentence him to 5 years 4 months’ imprisonment.