HKSAR v. KALANZI SOLOMY

HCCC 93/2016

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 93 OF 2016

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

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COURT: Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

You admitted that on 4 October 2015 at the Customs Arrival Hall at the Hong Kong International Airport, you unlawfully trafficked in 1,035 grammes of a solid containing 563 grammes of cocaine.

You are an Ugandan and aged 48. You arrived in Hong Kong, departing from Burundi via Addis Abbas on 4 October last year. At the Customs Arrival Hall, you were intercepted by the Customs officers. Nothing suspicious was found upon you during the body search. You were suspected of concealing drugs internally within your body and, therefore, you were sent to the North Lantau Hospital for medical examination. The hospital x-ray revealed that you had concealed suspected dangerous drugs in your body. You were then admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

In the following days you excreted 50 pellets, containing 532 grammes of a solid containing 299 grammes of cocaine.

After you were discharged from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on 9 October 2015 you were brought to the Tsuen Wan Magistracy. Just before you were brought up to the court, you discharged one large pellet of drugs which we now know to have contained 503 grammes of a solid containing 264 grammes of cocaine from your vagina.

In the record of interview, you had stated how a female Nigerian called Anne had arranged for your ticket and how you had taken the pellets of drugs and how you placed the further pellet into your vagina and took a plane to Hong Kong.

The estimated street value of the drugs in October 2015 in Hong Kong was in the sum of HK$1,103,310.

You had told the investigating officers that the drugs were destined for Guangzhou and you were to have a one night stay in Hong Kong. Upon successful delivery of these drugs, you would receive US$3,000. On your person when you were searched at the airport, a sum of US$4,070 cash and a mobile phone were found in your possession.

Mr Neil Mitchell, your counsel, has in his usual thoroughness mitigated fully on your behalf. He has enlightened me in respect of what you have done to make other people in Uganda aware of the serious consequences of trafficking in drugs. He has informed me of Father John Wotherspoon’s successful campaign to advise Tanzanians to stop drug traffickers from using them. The success is obviously a very good campaign which Mr Wotherspoon has no doubt faced an uphill battle and I am pleased to see that this has somehow worked.

As Mr Mitchell says, in most of these cases, defendant, it is a very sad story of how and why you have become involved in trafficking in dangerous drugs. It is usually the case when people like yourselves are in quite desperate financial constraints or have very serious family medical problems of which in your heart of hearts you wish to help your family or members of your extended family.

I certainly appreciate the difficult circumstances that you have faced in your country, and I sympathise fully with your predicament that you are in. However, as you know and as Mr Mitchell rightly points out, no doubt, that trafficking in dangerous drugs is a very serious offence and when you were trafficking in drugs you took that risk that if you were to be caught, no doubt, there would be a serious penalty.

In your case, defendant, the risk perhaps was even higher in that your risk was that if any one of these pellets were to have broken open there was a grave serious, perhaps fatal risk, to your life. This, I have to say, you did with open eyes. You knew that this might be a consequence. However that does not detract from the sympathy I have for you in that the traffickers target couriers like you who are in very desperate situations.

I am however, bound, despite the very sorry and tragic circumstances that you and many others find yourselves in by the laws in Hong Kong. They are that these personal or very sad and tragic circumstances do not play a mitigating factor in these cases. Mr Mitchell rightly points out to me that your strongest and greatest mitigating factor is your plea of guilty. You did from the outset, I note, plead at the Magistracy Court and you have been committed here to the High Court for sentence.

I am aware that you have five children in Uganda, a mother who is wheelchair-bound and a nephew and niece who have full‑blown aids, and a husband whom you divorced but has since passed away. I have taken into account what you have said to me in your letter and why for that reason you came to Hong Kong to have more money to cover your future expenditure.

As Mr Mitchell properly refers this court to, the guidelines for trafficking in cocaine is set down in a case of The Queen v Lau Tak Ming. The amount of drugs that you were trafficking in was 563 grammes of cocaine. The bracket or band to which those drugs fall within is that of between 400 and 600 grammes which the courts have laid down a starting point guideline of between 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment after trial. Taking into account the quantity of drugs involved, had you been convicted after trial, I would have taken a starting point of 19 years’ imprisonment.

As I have mentioned, even your clear record is not a mitigating factor. This case, however, attracts an aggravating factor which is that you had imported these drugs into Hong Kong, and on that the Court of Appeal in HKSAR v Abdallah Anwar Abbas stated that a starting point adopted should be enhanced because of this element of international importation. I therefore will enhance the starting point by 1 year’s imprisonment and I do that in accordance and following the case laid down in Chung Ping Kun.

Therefore, your sentencing point after trial, had you been convicted, would have been one of 20 years’ imprisonment.

You have pleaded guilty. You are entitled to the full one‑third discount, and in those circumstances, defendant, you shall be sentenced to 13 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.