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HCCC 310/2016
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO 310 OF 2016
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| Date: |
2 September 2016 at 11.00 am |
| Present: |
Ms Grace Chan, SPP of the Department of Justice, for
HKSAR |
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Ms Wong Wing-man Vivian, instructed by Anthony Kwan &
Co, assigned by DLA, for the accused |
| Offence: |
Trafficking in dangerous drugs (販運危險藥物) |
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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty in June at Eastern
Magistracy to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs which
involved 74.3 grammes of ketamine and 10.49 grammes of cocaine. At
about 12.30 am in 10 January 2016, police officers intercepted the
defendant, his girlfriend and another female when they came out from
Flat 1410, Sun Hing Building, 603 to 607, Nathan Road.
The police then searched the rooms inside the flat. Inside room five, the police found five bags of ketamine, 44 bags of cocaine. There were other items including an electronic scale and 113 resalable plastic bags. All the items were found in a drawer of a wooden cabinet. The police also found from the rucksack of the defendant’s girlfriend two bags of ketamine and 20 bags of cocaine. The defendant had the keys to the flat and room five.
Under caution the defendant admitted that all the dangerous drug found belonged to him. He trafficked the dangerous drug for “Ah Kai” for a daily reward of HK$1,000. The police estimated that the value of the dangerous drugs was about HK$26,000.
The defendant is 22, he is single. He has eight previous convictions. He received education up to Form 4. He was a renovation worker at the time of the offence, earning about 5,000 per month. His parents had divorced, his mother lived on CSSA. His younger brother is in university in Taiwan. The defendant and his girlfriend had a new born shortly after their arrest. The new born died shortly after birth. The defendant blamed himself for this tragedy. The defendant said he had not received any reward. The defendant submits a letter indicating that he is very remorseful, he pleads for leniency.
In relation to the 74.3 grammes of ketamine, according to SJ v Hii Siew Cheng the starting point should be 6 years and 4 months’ imprisonment. For the 10.49 grammes of cocaine, according to Lau Tak Ming, the starting point should be 5 years’ imprisonment. I adopt the approach in HKSAR v Wong King Kau for sentencing as there are two kinds of drug.
In arriving at the combined starting point I have considered the authorities submitted Ms Vivian Wong, defence counsel. I have considered the following factors:
A. Trafficking in 74.3 grammes of ketamine warrants an imprisonment of 6 years and 4 months.
B. Trafficking in 10.49 grammes of cocaine will be roughly equivalent to the criminality of trafficking in 20 grammes of ketamine.
C. I add this notional 30 grammes to the 74.3 grammes of ketamine, the total is 104.3 grammes of ketamine. The defendant is sentenced on the basis of trafficking this equivalent amount of ketamine.
D. For 104.3 grammes of ketamine the sentence should be 6 years and 8 months imprisonment.
Having considered the quantity of drugs and the mitigation I take 6 years and 8 months as the combined starting point. I deduct 2 years and 3 months for his plea. I do not think the death of his baby warrants any further reduction. I sentence the defendant to 4 years and 5 months imprisonment.
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