HKSAR v. CHEUNG WAN KIN

DCCC 917/2015

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 917 OF 2015

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  The defendant has pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug.

2.  The facts of the offence are simple.  The offence was detected on 3 August 2015 when the defendant was subjected to a stop and search operation in Yau Ma Tei.  Upon search of the defendant, they found $21,000‑odd.  Then there was a search of a vehicle in which 20 plastic bags containing what was 136 grammes of ketamine, the narcotic, was found hanging on the gearstick.  This was the vehicle the defendant had been seen to enter.  The defendant, when cautioned, said that the ketamine discovered belonged to him.

3.  The street value of the ketamine is $34,544 and the defendant admits as a fact that he possessed the 136 grammes of ketamine for the purpose of unlawful trafficking in them.

4.  In mitigation it was advanced that the defendant was courier of the drug which is amply supported by the facts that he has admitted.

5.  As far as the defendant's antecedents are concerned, he is aged 28 years old.  He has one previous spent conviction which was committed at a young age of common assault.  It is not relevant to sentencing today.  He was educated to Secondary 2 level and at the time of his arrest was working as a part-time lorry driver. He says he is not a triad member nor a drug addict and he lives in public housing in the New Territories up in Tin Shui Wai.

6.  In mitigation I heard about his background.  He lives with his girlfriend and has done for quite a long time.  He worked as a lorry driver for a number of years, for 9½ years, was promoted in 2010 but seems to have resigned due to the pressure of the work in 2015.  Since then he has been working as a part-time lorry driver.

7.  His involvement in this offence is very simple, he said he was offered $2,000 to deliver the drugs.  It was easy money and a way of supplementing the lower income that he receives when working part-time and in that sense he is untypical of the kind of person who commits these offences who are normally deeply involved in the drug trade and have been for a number of years.  The defendant's involvement appears to have happened very recently.

8.  As far as mitigation is concerned, he prays in aid he has pleaded guilty and his previous good character, his working record and non-involvement in any crime.

9.  As far as sentence is concerned, the courts are of course in cases involving the trafficking in dangerous drugs bound by the guideline sentences that have been placed by the Court of Appeal and there is a clear guideline for the trafficking of ketamine.  The defendant falls in the category or the quantity of 50 to 300 grammes of the drug and a sentence of between 6 to 9 years' imprisonment is the guideline sentence for that quantity.

10.  There are no exceptional circumstances that would justify a substantial departure from the normal guidelines in this case but the quantity would put the drugs towards the lower end of the guideline, as would the defendant's previous work record and clear record.

11.  Taking all these factors into consideration, I shall determine the starting point for sentence be at 6 years and 6 months' imprisonment which is 78 months' imprisonment.  That is subject to a one-third deduction which would be 26 months.  So the final sentence will be one of 52 months' imprisonment.