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HCCC344/2009
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 344 OF 2009
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Date:
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25 May 2010 at 9.39 am
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Present:
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Mr Derek Lai, Senior Public Prosecutor of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Gibson Shaw, instructed by Messrs Christopher K Y Wong, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Accused
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Offence:
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Trafficking in a dangerous drug (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: I have to sentence you for trafficking in dangerous drugs. The drug was ketamine, and you were caught carrying a quantity of it in public. The amount you carried was 183 grammes.
It will have been explained to you that sentencing in such cases is the subject of guidelines which are based on the nature and weight of the drug, and you will know that in your case, you fall into the category that attracts a starting point after trial of 6 to 9 years’ imprisonment, being based on 50 to 300 grammes of ketamine.
You will also know that you earn a one-third discount for the plea of guilty.
I have learnt about you from the mitigation I have heard, and the picture that emerges is a man in his early 40s, and this is the first time you have been in trouble. You have worked honestly before this, and it was the failure of your business in the light of the economic downturn that led you to crime. It does not excuse it, of course, but it does explain it.
Bearing in mind those matters and the plea of guilty, when I come to take the starting point, I shall moderate it and not do it entirely mathematically. I shall take a starting point of 7½ years, producing a sentence after the discount thereby of 5 years’ imprisonment.
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