|
HCCC 368/2014
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO 368 OF 2014
-----------------
-----------------
| Date: |
13 November 2014 at 9.41 am |
| Present: |
Mr Harish Melwaney, SPP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR |
| |
Mr Yeung Shak-nung, instructed by C L Chow & Macksion Chan, assigned 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: Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a single offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs, that being 1.45 kilogrammes of powder containing 0.99 kilogrammes of ketamine.
Briefly, the facts are as follows.
At about 2000 hours on 22 February last, police on mobile patrol acted on information and followed a car from Fu Kin Street, Sha Tin to Tin Sum Street. There they saw you alight from the front passenger’s seat, bend down near a flowerbed and then return to the car which drove off.
They intercepted the car outside 86 To Kwa Wan Road, Kowloon. You and a female alighted - we now know that female was, in fact, your girlfriend.
The car was searched and police found six bags of powder weighing 1.45 kilogrammes containing 0.99 kilogrammes of ketamine in the glove compartment.
Under caution you said you had the bags of ketamine to sell to earn money. You picked them up from a flowerbed outside Tin Sum Village. And later, a video-recorded interview under caution you admitted you were to deliver the ketamine for $1,000. Also you admitted that the female driver knew nothing about the dangerous drugs.
The ketamine has a street value of approximately $168,200.
You admitted to 24 previous convictions on 17 occasions, 11 of which were drug related and 5 were actual trafficking or possession for the purpose thereof.
Mr Yeung indicated that you accepted the antecedents statement save for the fact that the son is, in fact, your stepson, not your natural son.
You are 52 years of age, educated to primary level and unemployed. You are of good health. You are a divorcee but you are in a relationship with a lady who was driving the car. There is a stepson that I referred to previously, and a daughter. Whilst you had a drug habit when you were young, you have largely broken that and only occasionally take drugs now.
Mr Yeung told me in mitigation that you are the sole breadwinner of the family, however you have been unemployed for a year.
As the facts confirm, you were to receive $1,000 for the transportation of the drugs, but in fact you received nothing as the deal had not been completed. He expressed your remorse, and underlined that you had been exceptionally cooperative with the police from the point of your arrest and that you had entered your plea of guilty at the very first available opportunity.
I turn now to sentence.
This amount of ketamine falls within the range of 12 to 14 years’ imprisonment, being within the amount of 600 to 1,000 grammes.
I note you have a very poor record. There are two things in your favour: the first is that you were very cooperative with police upon arrest; and you were very honourable in that you exonerated your girlfriend of any blame in this matter very quickly.
I can see no reason to stray from the usual tariff in this case. I take a starting point of 14 years’ imprisonment, which is 9 years and 4 months for your plea of guilty.
You will therefore go to prison for 9 years and 4 months.
|