The defendant was spotted by the police acting suspiciously at the premises in Kwun Tong on 30 October 2017 at around 5.44 in the morning. The police entered the said premises and found inside paraphernalia and apparatus fit for operation of a divan.
Various kinds of dangerous drugs were also found inside the premises, including in the purity of 5.95 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, 15.47 grammes of heroin hydrochloride and 12 tablets of midazolam of 0.17 grammes.
The estimated street value of the dangerous drugs in total is HK$14,528.
The defendant subsequently admitted in the video-recorded interview that he was employed to manage the divan by a male called “Ah Yan” for the remuneration of $500 per day.
The defendant is 49 years old. He has 21 previous convictions, over 10 of which are drug-related with one trafficking in dangerous drugs committed in 1998 for which he was sentenced to 4½ years’ imprisonment.
Ms Chow, counsel for the defendant, submitted that the defendant, in order to keep his public housing unit while he was imprisoned in 2015, he asked his friend to pay the rent for him and therefore owed his friend a debt. In order to repay his friend after his release, he tried to find a job but as his construction worker licence and excavator licence had expired, he could not find a job. He then met an acquaintance who offered his job to manage the subject divan. The defendant has now given up his housing unit.
The defendant has also written a letter to this court, saying that he is now very remorseful and asks for a lenient sentence. Ms Chow also submitted that the premises involved is only 200 square foot and is of a very small scale. I accept the submission of Ms Chow that the divan is relatively of a small scale.
In the circumstances, I am of the view that the starting point of 3 years’ imprisonment is appropriate for Charge 1. For the 2nd charge, I will adopt the combined approach and make reference to the tariff for trafficking in heroin hydrochloride. Applying the tariff laid down in Lau Tak Ming and taking into account all the quantities of various drugs involved, the conviction record of the defendant and that various kinds of drugs were offered in the divan, I am of the view that 6 years’ imprisonment is the appropriate starting point.
Taking into account the defendant’s guilty plea, the sentence for Charge 1 is reduced from 3 years to 2 years. The sentence for the 2nd charge be reduced from 6 years to 4 years. Taking into account the total sentence, I order that 6 months of Charge 1 be served consecutively to Charge 2, the remaining sentence be run concurrently.
The total sentence is therefore 4 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.